Know thyself 1628055 220731091 2008-06-21T08:44:25Z Aesopos 3138216 {{redirect|Gnothi Seauton|the [[Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles]] episode|Gnothi Seauton (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)}} [[Image:Gnothi Sauton Reichert-Haus in Ludwigshafen.jpg|thumb|A stained glass window with the contracted version '''γνωθι σαυτόν'''.]] The [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] [[aphorism]] '''"Know yourself"''' ([[Greek (language)|Greek]]: '''γνῶθι σεαυτόν''' or '''''gnothi seauton''', or '''σαυτόν''' with the ε contracted)'' was inscribed in the pronaos (forecourt) of the [[Temple of Apollo (Delphi)|Temple of Apollo at Delphi]] - according to the Greek periegetic (travelogue) writer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] (10.24.1). The aphorism has been attributed to at least six ancient Greek sages: * [[Chilon of Sparta]] (Chilon I 63, 25) * [[Heraclitus]] * [[Pythagoras]] * [[Socrates]] * [[Solon]] of Athens * [[Thales of Miletus]] Other sources attribute it to [[Phemonoe]], a mythical Greek poetess. In a discussion of moderation and self-awareness, the Roman poet [[Juvenal]] quotes the phrase in Greek and states that the precept descended ''de caelo'' (from heaven) ([[Satires of Juvenal#Satire XI: Dinner and a Moral|Satire]] 11.27). The saying "Know thyself" may refer by extension to the ideal of understanding human behavior, morals, and thought, because ultimately to understand oneself is to understand other humans as well. However, the ancient Greek philosophers thought that no man can ever comprehend the human spirit and thought thoroughly, so it would have been almost inconceivable to know oneself fully. Therefore, the saying may refer to a less ambitious ideal, such as knowing one's own habits, morals, temperament, ability to control anger, and other aspects of human behavior that we struggle with on a daily basis. In [[Latin]], the aphorism is generally given as ''[[nosce te ipsum]]''. The Latin version of the aphorism is written on a plaque above the Oracle's door in the [[Matrix (series)|Matrix series]], where it is rendered in a non-traditional Latin; that is to say ''temet nosce'' ("thine own-self you must know") translated in the Matrix as [[know thyself]]. ==See also== * [[Introspection]] * [[Self-knowledge]] * [[Self (philosophy)]] * [[Self-realization]] * [[Scio nescio]] ==External links== * [http://classics.binghamton.edu/gnothi_sauton.pdf ''Gnothi sauton''] at [http://www.binghamton.edu Binghamton University] * Philosophical Treatise ''Know Yourself'' by [[Peter Abelard]] * [http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/poems/gnothi.html Poem ''Gnothi Seauton''] by [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] * [http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/Classic%20Poems/Pope/know%20thyself.htm Poem ''Know Thyself''] by [[Alexander Pope]] {{Spirituality-stub}} [[Category:Greek words and phrases]] [[Category:Quotes]] [[Category:Spirituality]] [[Category:Classical oracles]] [[de:Gnothi seauton]] [[es:Gnóthi seautón]] [[fr:Gnothi seauton]] [[it:Conosci te stesso]] [[nl:Ken uzelf]] [[pt:Gnothi seauton]] [[sr:Спознај себе]] [[tr:Gnothi seauton]] [[zh:认识你自己]]