Know thyself
"Know thyself"[1] is an Ancient Greek aphorism.[2] According to the Greek writer Pausanias,[3] it was the first of three Delphic maxims inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.[4] The two maxims that followed "Know thyself" were "Nothing in excess" and "Give a pledge (or give security) and trouble is at hand".[5]
The meaning of the phrase is discussed in Plato's Protagoras dialogue, where Socrates lauds the authors of pithy and concise sayings, giving "the far-famed inscriptions, which are in all men's mouths—'Know thyself' and 'Nothing too much'".[6] as examples. Socrates attributes these sayings to one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Thales of Miletus, Solon of Athens, Bias of Priene, Pittacus of Mytilene, Myson of Chenae, Cleobulus of Lindus and Chilon of Sparta.[7]
The aphorism has also been attributed to various other philosophers. Diogenes Laërtius attributes it to Thales[8][9] but notes that Antisthenes in his Successions of Philosophers attributes it instead to Phemonoe, a mythical Greek poet. In a discussion of moderation and self-awareness, the Roman poet Juvenal quotes the phrase in Greek and states that the precept descended e caelo (from heaven).[10] Other names of potential include Pythagoras[11] and Heraclitus.[12] The 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia the Suda recognized Chilon[7] and Thales[9] as the sources of the maxim "Know Thyself" and states: "the proverb is applied to those whose boasts exceed what they are"[7] and that "Know thyself" is a warning to pay no attention to the opinion of the multitude.[13]
The authenticity of all such attributions is doubtful; according to Parke and Wormell, "The actual authorship of the three maxims set up on the Delphian temple may be left uncertain. Most likely they were popular proverbs, which tended later to be attributed to particular sages."[14][15]
See also
References
- ^ (Greek: γνῶθι σεαυτόν, transliterated: gnōthi seautón; also ... σαυτόν … sautón with the ε contracted)
- ^ Wilkins, Eliza G. (April 1927). "ΕΓΓΥΑ, ΠΑΡΑ ΔΑΤΗ in Literature" (PDF). Classical Philology. 22 (2). University of Chicago Press: 121–135. doi:10.1086/360881. JSTOR 263511. S2CID 162666822.
- ^ 10.24.1
- ^ "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Phocis and Ozolian Locri, chapter 24". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ Wilkins, Eliza G. (1929). The Delphic Maxims in Literature. University of Chicago Press. p. 1.
- ^ "Plato, Protagoras, section 343b". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ a b c "SOL Search". www.cs.uky.edu.
- ^ Lives I.40
- ^ a b "SOL Search". www.cs.uky.edu.
- ^ Satires 11.27
- ^ Vico, Giambattista; Visconti, Gian Galeazzo (1993). On humanistic education: (six inaugural orations, 1699-1707). Six Inaugural Orations, 1699-1707 From the Definitive Latin Text, Introduction, and Notes of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. Cornell University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0801480876.
- ^ Doctoral thesis, "Know Thyself in Greek and Latin Literature," Eliza G. Wilkens, U. Chi, 1917, p. 12 (online).
- ^ "SOL Search". www.cs.uky.edu.
- ^ H. Parke and D. Wormell, The Delphic Oracle, (Basil Blackwell, 1956), vol. 1, p. 389.
- ^ Dempsey, T., Delphic Oracle: Its Early History, Influence & Fall, Oxford: B.H. Blackwell, 1918. With a prefatory note by R. S. Conway. Cf. pp.141-142 (Alternative source for book at Internet Archive in various formats)
External links
- Gnothi sauton at Binghamton University
- "The Examined Life", BBC Radio 4 discussion with A.C. Grayling, Janet Radcliffe & Julian Baggini (In Our Time, May 9, 2002)