| |  | 
|
Socrates |
|
Know Thyself.
|
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
The Soul of Man Under Socialism, Fortnightly Review, February 1891
|
|
"Know Thyself" was written over the portal of the antique world. Over the portal of the new world, "Be Thyself" shall be written.
|
Abraham Joshua Heschel
(1907-1972)
The Prophets
|
|
"Know thy God: [1 Chronicles 28:9] rather than "Know Thyself" is the categorical imperative of the biblical man. There is no self-understanding without God-understanding.
|
Alexander Pope
(1688-1744)
An Essay On Man
|
|
Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of Mankind is Man.
|
Quentin Crisp |
|
The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we hold of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us.
|
Plato
(427?-347 B.C.) |
|
I must first know myself, as the Delphian inscription says; to be curious about that which is not my concern, while I am still in ignorance of my own self would be ridiculous.
|
Richard of Saint-Victor
(A.D.?-1173)
|
|
The high peak of knowledge is perfect self-knowledge.
|
Lord Byron
Don Juan
|
|
How little do we know that which we are! How less what we may be!
|
Aldous Huxley
(1894-1963)
The Perennial Philosophy
|
|
If most of us remain ignorant of ourselves, it is because self-knowledge is painful and we prefer the pleasures of illusion.
|
Lord Chesterfield
Letter to his son, June 6, 1751
|
|
Study the heart and the mind of man, and begin with your own. Meditation and reflection must lay the foundation of that knowledge, but experience and practice must, and alone can, complete it.
|
Thomas Fuller
(1654-1734)
|
|
No man is the worse for knowing the worst of himself.
|
Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanac, August 1740
|
|
Observe all men; thy self most.
|
Lao-Tzu
(6th century B.C.)
The Way of Life
|
|
It is wisdom to know others;
It is enlightenment to know one's self.
|
Sir Joshua Reynolds
(1723-1792)
Discourses on Art: Discourse 7
|
|
And he who does not know himself does not know others, so it may be said with equal truth, that he who does not know others knows himself but very imperfectly.
|
Walter Lippmann
(1889-1974)
A Preface to Politics
|
|
Our greatest instrument for understanding the world—introspection . . . . The best way of knowing the inwardness of our neighbor is to know ourselves.
|
Heraclitus
(540?-480? B.C.)
|
|
All men have the capacity of knowing themselves and acting with moderation.
|
Baltasar Gracián
(1601-1658)
|
|
Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.
|
Peter Koestenbaum
Consultant
|
|
Unless the distant goals of meaning, greatness, and destiny are addressed, we can't make an intelligent decision about what to do tomorrow morning—much less set the long-term strategy for a company. Nothing is more practical than for people to deepen themselves.
|
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
|
|
Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. It enables you to keep growing.
|
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
|
|
Good leaders learn their specific personal strengths and weaknesses, especially in dealing with other people, then build on the strengths and correct the weaknesses.
|
Arnold Toynbee
(1889-1975)
A Study of History
|
|
Unless we can bear self-mortification, we shall not be able to carry self-examination to the necessary painful lengths. Without humility there can be no illuminating self-knowledge.
|
Jonathan Swift |
|
Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of.
|
Jonathan Miller |
|
Since finding out what something is is largely a matter of discovering what it is like, the most impressive contribution to the growth of intelligibly has been made by the application of suggestive metaphors.
|
Ursula K. LeGuin |
|
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
|
Balki Bartokomous
Perfect Strangers |
|
What a wonderful day we've had. You have learned something, and I have learned something. Too bad we didn't learn it sooner. We could have gone to the movies instead.
|
Louis Johannot |
|
The only reason I always try to meet and know the parents better is because it helps me to forgive their children.
|
William Shakespeare
(1564-11616)
Hamlet, 4.5.42
|
|
Ophelia: We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
|
Terance
(190-159 B.C.)
|
|
I bid him look into the lives of men as though into a mirror, and from others to take an example for himself.
|
Parker Palmer
Leader to Leader Fall 2001 |
|
There's a lot of fear connected with the inner journey because it penetrates our illusions. Taking the inner journey will lead you into some very shadowy places. You're going to learn things about yourself that you'll wish you didn't know. There are monsters in there—monsters you can't control—but trying to keep them hidden will only give them greater power.
|
Thales
(625?-547? B.C.) |
|
Anonymous: What is difficult?
Thales: To know thyself.
|
Sun-Tzu
(4th Century B.C.)
|
|
Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.
|
Manfred Kets De Vries, Reflections on Leadership and Career Development |
|
Many people have a hard time looking at themselves in the mirror and dealing with the ravages of time. Fortunately, we can be grateful to the mirror for showing us only our external appearance.
|
Confucius |
|
When we seen men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
|
Nikolai Gogol
(1836)
|
|
It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.
|
Jean Cocteau |
|
Mirrors should reflect a little before throwing back images.
|
George Herbert
1651
|
|
The best mirror is an old friend.
|
Bud Bray
Quoted in Is it too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? |
|
The most successful people are those who don't have any illusions about who they are. They know themselves well and they can move in the direction of their best talents. They know the kind of culture they thrive in and how they can benefit from that culture. Unfortunately, most people don't understand themselves. Most people don't want to lose their illusions about themselves, although they say they want to take charge of their career.
|
Franklin P. Jones |
|
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.
|
Carl Jung |
|
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
|
A. L. Kitselman |
|
The words "I am..." are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you're claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.
|
Quentin Crisp |
|
It's no good running a pig farm badly for thirty years while saying, "Really I was meant to be a ballet dancer." By that time, pigs will be your style.
|
Henry C. Link |
|
While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.
|
Anaïs Nin |
|
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another, unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another.
|
Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|
Whatever games are played with us, we must play no games with ourselves.
|
The Sea That Thinks
From the Movie
|
|
Insight into oneself is the same as calling yourslef at home; the line is always occupied.
|
Virginia Woolf
"The Leaning Tower", lecture delivered to the Workers' Educational Association, Brighton in May 1940 |
|
If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.
|
 |
| 
|
