“Pleasure assails a man through each and every sense that he has; and while he must face and grapple with work, to pleasure he must give the widest berth possible and have none but unavoidable dealings with her. And herein the strongest man is indeed strongest, one might almost say, who can keep the farthest away from pleasures; for it is impossible to dwell with pleasure or even to dally with her for any length of time without being completely enslaved.”
A speech by Diogenes, p. 391
On Virtue
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Dio Chrysostom 8
Greek philosopher 40–120Related quotes

“He that loves pleasure, must for pleasure fall.”
Evil Angel, Act V, scene iv
Source: Doctor Faustus (c. 1603)
“A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering.”
In Search of the Miraculous (1949)

Freeman (1948), p. 163
Variant: The brave man is he who overcomes not only his enemies but his pleasures. There are some men who are masters of cities but slaves to women.

“A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure.”
Source: The Picture of Dorian Gray

“A sensible man takes pleasure in what he has instead of pining for what he has not.”
Source Book in Ancient Philosophy (1907), The Golden Sayings of Democritus