Diogenes Laërtius records the plucked-bird anecdote, but R. D. Hicks’s 1925 English translation says “Here is Plato’s man.” The displayed “Behold” version is a different rendering, not the exact Hicks wording checked here; neither is a contemporary transcript of Diogenes.
“Behold Plato's man!” — Attributed to Diogenes of Sinope in a transmitted anecdote; popular English rendering. Hicks (1925) reads “Here is Plato’s man.” Via Quotle.info
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Provenance
What the source establishes
Documented trail
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers 6.40; R. D. Hicks translation (1925), reproduced at Wikisource.
Evidence
Hicks wording checked; popular English variant not pinned to this edition
Here is Plato's man.
The actual Hicks wording at Lives 6.40. The popular Behold variant above has not been pinned to this translation.
Read the Hicks translation ↗ — Diogenes Laërtius records the plucked-bird anecdote, but R. D. Hicks’s 1925 English translation says “Here is Plato’s man.” The displayed “Behold” version is a different rendering, not the exact Hicks wording checked here; neither is a contemporary transcript of Diogenes.
The identified Hicks translation was published in 1925 and is public domain in the United States. The displayed Behold variant has not been tied to that edition; no blanket reuse status is asserted for that exact variant.
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Diogenes of Sinope is identified in the cited material as the ancient cynic philosopher. This page distinguishes the documented source trail from a claim of verbatim personal testimony.
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The primary source (Chicago)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers 6.40; R. D. Hicks translation (1925), reproduced at Wikisource.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Behold Plato's man!’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/behold-platos-man/