We know what we are, but know not what we may be. – William Shakespeare Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5. Ophelia tells Claudius that we know what we are now but not what we may become or where we may end up.
But, to know a man well, were to know himself. – William Shakespeare Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2. Hamlet to Osric, about Laertes. He is saying that you can only recognize in others what you know in yourself.
Man is so constituted that he then only excels other things when he knows himself. – Boethius The Consolation of Philosophy
‘Know thyself’ was written over the portal of the antique world. Over the portal of the new world, ‘Be thyself’ shall be written. – Oscar Wilde The Soul of Man Under Socialism
If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead. – Gelett Burgess
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. – Nelson Mandela
All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why. – James Thurber
It’s not only the most difficult thing to know one’s self, but the most inconvenient. – Josh Billings
We have to program the mind of the public that age is not ugly. Age is just age. Wake up, American children, and stop listening to other people’s voices. Know yourself, be true to yourself and make a contribution. It took me half my life to know myself. I listened to other people’s opinions and took them as gospel. – Carmen Dell’Orefice
The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality or whatever you like to call it, can never be answered by books, by priests, philosopher’s or saviours. Nobody and nothing can answer the question but you yourself, and that is why you must know yourself – Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self. – Jiddu Krishnamurti
Know yourself. Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. – Ann Landers
Only as you do know yourself can your brain serve you as a sharp and efficient tool. Know your own failings, passions, and prejudices so you can separate them from what you see. – Bernard Baruch
He that knows himself, knows others; and he that is ignorant of himself, could not write a very profound lecture on other men’s heads. – Charles Caleb Colton
We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves. – Galileo Galilei
One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star. – Gilbert K. Chesterton
Use the creative process – singing, writing, art, dance, whatever – to get to know yourself better. – Catie Curtis
‘Know thyself’ is a good saying, but not in all situations. In many it is better to say ‘know others.’ – Menander
When life was worrying about a car payment or a rent payment and a bill, you’re so consumed with that, you really don’t have time to know yourself. That’s surviving and getting by. – Fred Durst
I’m realizing for the first time, your life goes on while you’re trying to pursue this career. I saw my career as everything. But you have this life, too. Living your life fully, you come to know yourself better. You’ll find the place for it. – Nicholas D’Agosto
Today is the day to break free from the prison of the person you know yourself to be and step into a self you have yet to know. Will it be comfortable? No, but do it anyway. – Debbie Ford
To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment. – Eckhart Tolle
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. – George A. Moore
