溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
Know Thyself
Is knowing myself the beginning of all knowledge?
Know thyself.
Socrates did not coin this phrase. It was an old maxim carved in the forecourt of the temple at Delphi, meaning first of all "remember you are mortal" — humility before the gods. Socrates lifted it from the oracle's wall and planted it at the heart of philosophy: knowledge must turn inward, not outward. The Stoics made it a daily self-examination (prosochē); Augustine dug into memory to seek God there; and Descartes finally arrived at the one thing he could not doubt — the thinking self. One maxim has branched for 2,500 years, from humility to self-inquiry to the ground of certainty.
The answers have changed with each age, but every time you face a mirror, this question is carved into you again.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
I know this is not an answer but a command. The temple did not tell us how to know ourselves — only that we must. Standing before this ancient line, I first meet how little I know myself. Socrates said the only thing he knew was that he knew nothing, so perhaps knowing oneself is not an arrival but a road one walks a whole life. I, too, am still standing before this question.
✍️Your Answer
The lineage of the ancients ends here. Now it is your turn before the question. There is no right answer — only how you, today, would answer.
🔒 This answer is stored only on your device. It is never sent to a server.
This is not a museum of answers but a lineage of questions. All sources are public-domain texts; the lineage and reflection are 100% original ONGO content.
