I call a fig a fig, a spade a spade.

τα σύκα σύκα, την σκάφην σκάφην Χε^ων,

Menander

More information about this quote

Topic

Keeping it real Honesty

Author

Menander

Medium

Fragment

Language

Greek

Time

290 BC 290s BC 3rd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Playwright Writer

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Plutarch. Apophthegmata Laconica. c. 100 AD.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Menander about keeping it real: “I call a fig a fig, a spade a spade.”
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A quote by Menander about keeping it real: “I call a fig a fig, a spade a spade.”
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A quote by Menander about keeping it real: “I call a fig a fig, a spade a spade.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from Classical antiquity

Bad herdsmen ruin their flocks.

Homer

The Odyssey

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Read The Odyssey at MIT's classics department website
More information about this quote
Topic
Leadership Caring for others

Author

Homer
Source
The Odyssey
Medium
Poem
Genre
Epic poem
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
Greek
Time
700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 17, l. 246.

Current Citation

Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 17, l. 246.

Another quote originally in Greek

How, then, might we contrive... One noble lie to persuade if possible the rulers themselves, but failing that the rest of the city?

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Read the Republic at MIT's classics department website
More information about this quote
Topic
Politics and lies Lies
Speaker
Socrates

Author

Plato
Source
Republic
Medium
Philosophical dialogue Dialogue
Genre
Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Question
Language
Greek
Time
375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.