--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Discourse on virtue and they pass by in…" description: "\"“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance and shimmy, and you've got an audience!”\" — Diogenes Laërtius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/diogenes-laertius-13984_character_discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in_939836.jpg" --- # Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle… ![“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance and shimmy, and you've got an audience!” quote by Diogenes Laërtius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/diogenes-laertius-13984_character_discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in_939836.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/diogenes-laertius-13984_character_discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in_939836.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/diogenes-laertius-13984_character_discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in_939836.jpg) > ““Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance and shimmy, and you've got an audience!”” [Diogenes Laërtius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public entertainment often overshadows serious moral discourse, turning virtue into spectacle. **In simple terms:** Entertainment distracts from true virtue. Key Takeaway Prioritize substance over spectacle. Themes philosophy virtue society media discourse Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - political speeches - social media campaigns - public debates Key Concepts spectacle moral philosophy public attention Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance entertainment with ethical dialogue? - What platforms foster genuine moral discussion? A Different Perspective Risk of trivializing important issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in-droves-whistle-and-dance-the/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first virtue of citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-understood-as-the-willingness-to/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Sometimes you don't know what you've got until you put it in front of an audience - and the enthusiasm for the show from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-bourne/sometimes-you-don-t-know-what-you-ve-got-until-you-put-it-in-front-of/) [Matthew Bourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-bourne/) > [A lot of people that I know are bugged with the idea that they have got to have an audience, or they have got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/a-lot-of-people-that-i-know-are-bugged-with-the-idea-that-they-have/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [But I got an audience that knows what I do. They usually show up, so I usually do pretty good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mose-allison/but-i-got-an-audience-that-knows-what-i-do-they-usually-show-up-so-i/) [Mose Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mose-allison/) > [You've got to give an audience something to root for. The minute you get into more dystopian shows, where everything's really dark, and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/you-ve-got-to-give-an-audience-something-to-root-for-the-minute-you/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [I've got my audience on YouTube, and they aren't watching as much television. Then again, I think once you're doing both, once you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-dimoldenberg/i-ve-got-my-audience-on-youtube-and-they-aren-t-watching-as-much/) [Amelia Dimoldenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-dimoldenberg/) > [The way we got our audience was very organic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-popper/the-way-we-got-our-audience-was-very-organic/) [John Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-popper/) > [When you've got an audience, there's a silence in there that you don't find anywhere else. And it's really powerful. People are there listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-henshall/when-you-ve-got-an-audience-there-s-a-silence-in-there-that-you-don-t/) [Douglas Henshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-henshall/) > [I've got an audience now. They found me. I didn't go looking for them. I feel my music brought them all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-ve-got-an-audience-now-they-found-me-i-didn-t-go-looking-for-them-i/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [Kids audience is a brilliant audience. If you've got an audience of adults standing up and clapping, or you've got an audience of kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcavoy/kids-audience-is-a-brilliant-audience-if-you-ve-got-an-audience-of/) [James McAvoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcavoy/) > [I spent a long time on a big studio sitcom, 'Baddiel's Syndrome,' for Sky, and got no audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baddiel/i-spent-a-long-time-on-a-big-studio-sitcom-baddiel-s-syndrome-for-sky/) [David Baddiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baddiel/) > [Possibly because I did start off as a journalist, my starting point has always been that you've got to keep an audience with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/possibly-because-i-did-start-off-as-a-journalist-my-starting-point/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) ## More by Diogenes Laërtius > [Pythagoras used to say that he had received as a gift from Mercury the perpetual transmigration of his soul, so that it was constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/pythagoras-used-to-say-that-he-had-received-as-a-gift-from-mercury/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Anarcharsis, on learning that the sides of a ship were four fingers thick, said that "the passengers were just that distance from death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/anarcharsis-on-learning-that-the-sides-of-a-ship-were-four-fingers/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Courage, my boy! that is the complexion of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/courage-my-boy-that-is-the-complexion-of-virtue/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Aristippus said that a wise man's country was the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/aristippus-said-that-a-wise-man-s-country-was-the-world/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Arcesilaus had a peculiar habit while conversing of using the expression, "My opinion is," and "So and so will not agree to this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/arcesilaus-had-a-peculiar-habit-while-conversing-of-using-the/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Bion used to say that the way to the shades below was easy; he could go there with his eyes shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/bion-used-to-say-that-the-way-to-the-shades-below-was-easy-he-could/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Diogenes said once to a person who was showing him a dial, "It is a very useful thing to save a man from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/diogenes-said-once-to-a-person-who-was-showing-him-a-dial-it-is-a/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [“Step out of my sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/step-out-of-my-sunlight/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Plato affirmed that the soul was immortal and clothed in many bodies successively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/plato-affirmed-that-the-soul-was-immortal-and-clothed-in-many-bodies/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [When asked what learning was the most necessary, he said, “Not to unlearn what you have learned!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/when-asked-what-learning-was-the-most-necessary-he-said-not-to/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Anaximander used to assert that the primary cause of all things was the Infinite,-not defining exactly whether he meant air or water or anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/anaximander-used-to-assert-that-the-primary-cause-of-all-things-was/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [If appearances are deceitful, then they do not deserve any confidence when they assert what appears to them to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/if-appearances-are-deceitful-then-they-do-not-deserve-any-confidence/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [There is a written and an unwritten law. The one by which we regulate our constitutions in our cities is the written law; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/there-is-a-written-and-an-unwritten-law-the-one-by-which-we-regulate/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [Aristippus being asked what were the most necessary things for well-born boys to learn, said, "Those things which they will put in practice when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/aristippus-being-asked-what-were-the-most-necessary-things-for-well/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [“One day a man invited him into a richly furnished house, saying 'be careful not to spit on the floor.' Diogenes, who needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/one-day-a-man-invited-him-into-a-richly-furnished-house-saying-be/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) [Explore all 48 Diogenes Laërtius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. 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