
“Asked where he came from, he said, "I am a citizen of the world."”
Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 63
Quoted by Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes, 6.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 6: The Cynics
“Asked where he came from, he said, "I am a citizen of the world."”
Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 63
Quoted by Diogenes Laërtius
“When Zeno was asked what a friend was, he replied, "Another I."”
Zeno, 19.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 7: The Stoics
“When the slave auctioneer asked in what he was proficient, he replied, "In ruling people."”
Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 74
Quoted by Diogenes Laërtius
“When asked what wine he liked to drink, he replied, "That which belongs to another."”
Diogenes, 6.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 6: The Cynics
“I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth; I am a citizen of the world.”
"When I Shall Fight," Appeal to Reason (11 September 1915) https://socialistworker.org/2004-1/500/500_06_Zinn.php
2013, Commencement Address at Ohio State University (May 2013)
Context: I don’t pretend to have all the answers. And I’m not going to offer some grand theory – not when it’s a beautiful day and you’ve got some celebrating to do. I’m not going to get partisan, either, because that’s not what citizenship is about. In fact, I am asking the same thing of you that President Bush did when he spoke at this commencement in 2002: “America needs more than taxpayers, spectators, and occasional voters,” he said. “America needs full-time citizens.”
And as graduates from a university whose motto is “Education for Citizenship,” that’s what your country expects of you. So briefly, I will ask you for two things: to participate, and to persevere.
After all, your democracy does not function without your active participation. At a bare minimum, that means voting, eagerly and often. It means knowing who’s been elected to make decisions on your behalf, what they believe in, and whether or not they deliver. If they don’t represent you the way you want, or conduct themselves the way you expect – if they put special interests above your own – you’ve got to let them know that’s not okay. And if they let you down, there’s a built-in day in November where you can really let them know that’s not okay.
This illustrates the unsatisfactory character of the First-Cause argument.
"Is There a God?" (1952)
1950s
1910s, The World Movement (1910)
Context: Each people can do justice to itself only if it does justice to others; but each people can do its part in the world movement for all only if it first does its duty within its own household. The good citizen must be a good citizen of his own country first before he can with advantage be a citizen of the world at large.