When asked how fathers and sons should behave toward one another, Diogenes said that they should not wait for one another to ask for something, but should grant it before needing to be asked. It is natural for the father, as one who has taken the lead in bestowing favours, to be quick to feel aggrieved if he is not well treated in return, while the son for his part is apt to become complacent, and not think it necessary to ask his father for something.
