“False men and shams talk big and do nothing.”

—  Democritus

Source Book in Ancient Philosophy (1907), The Golden Sayings of Democritus

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 14, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "False men and shams talk big and do nothing." by Democritus?
Democritus photo
Democritus 81
Ancient Greek philosopher, pupil of Leucippus, founder of t…

Related quotes

David Lloyd George photo

“[The House of Lords] is the right hon. Gentleman's poodle. It fetches and carries for him. It barks for him. It bites anybody that he sets it on to. And we are told that this is a great revising Chamber, the safeguard of liberty in the country. Talk about mockeries and shams. Was there ever such a sham as that?”

David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1907/jun/26/house-of-lords in the House of Commons (26 June 1907)
President of the Board of Trade

Thomas Carlyle photo

“By what method or methods can the able men from every rank of life be gathered, as diamond-grains from the general mass of sand: the able men, not the sham-able;—and set to do the work of governing, contriving, administering and guiding for us!”

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher

It is the question of questions. All that Democracy ever meant lies there: the attainment of a truer and truer Aristocracy, or Government again by the Best.
1850s, Latter-Day Pamphlets (1850), Downing Street (April 1, 1850)

Example (musician) photo

“Don't speak
Don't speak no more
Cos your eyes do the talking
Don't speak
Don't speak no more
Cos your eyes do the talking
You don't have to say nothing
Say nothing
Cos your eyes do the talking”

Example (musician) (1982) English rapper and singer

"Say Nothing" (song)
("Say Nothing" on YouTube (with lyrics)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tctb0OHZnqQ
Studio albums, The Evolution of Man (2012)

Anna Sewell photo

“There is no religion without love,
and people may talk as much as
they like about their religion, but
if it does not teach them to be good
and kind to man and beast,
it is all a sham.”

Anna Sewell book Black Beauty

Source: Black Beauty (1877), Ch. XIII, p. 66

Joseph De Maistre photo

“False opinions are like false money, struck first of all by guilty men and thereafter circulated by honest people who perpetuate the crime without knowing what they are doing.”

Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821) Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat

Les fausses opinions ressemblent à la fausse monnaie qui est frappée d'abord par de grands coupables et dépensée ensuite par d'honnêtes gens qui perpétuent le crime sans savoir ce qu'ils font.
Les soirées de Saint-Pétersbourg, Ch. I

Jean Webster photo

“The more I study men, the more I realize that they are nothing in the world but boys grown too big to be spankable.”

Jean Webster book Dear Enemy

Source: Dear Enemy

“By doing nothing men learn to do ill.”

Publilio Siro Latin writer

Maxim 318
Compare Ecclesiasticus 33:27 (KJV): "idleness teacheth much evil".
Sentences, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave

Victor Hugo photo

“True or false, that which is said of men often occupies as important a place in their lives, and above all in their destinies, as that which they do.”

Victor Hugo book Les Misérables

Variant: What is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.
Source: Les Misérables

Related topics