Delphic maxims

Socrates' student, Xenophon, in his Memorabilia described Socrates' use of the maxim know thyself as an organizing theme for his dialogue with Euthydemus. In this dialogue Socrates points out that knowing thyself is the starting point for all good things, and failure to know thyself is the starting point of delusion, yet, even from this starting point one cannot be sure one knows what is good and what is bad.[12]

Socrates' student, Plato, employs the maxim 'know thyself' extensively by having the character of Socrates use it to motivate his dialogues. Benjamin Jowett's index to his translation of the Dialogues of Plato lists six dialogues which discuss or explore the Delphic maxim: 'know thyself.' These dialogues (and the Stephanus numbers indexing the pages where these discussions begin) are Charmides (164D), Protagoras (343B), Phaedrus (229E), Philebus (48C), Laws (II.923A), Alcibiades I (124A, 129A, 132C).[13]

In Plato's Charmides, Critias argues that "succeeding sages who added 'never too much,' or, 'give a pledge, and evil is nigh at hand,' would appear to have so misunderstood them; for they imagined that 'know thyself!' was a piece of advice which the god gave, and not his salutation of the worshippers at their first coming in; and they dedicated their own inscription under the idea that they too would give equally useful pieces of advice."[14] In Critias' opinion 'know thyself!' was an admonition to those entering the sacred temple to remember or know their place and that 'know thyself!' and 'be temperate!' are the same.[15] In the balance of the Charmides, Plato has Socrates lead a longer inquiry as to how we may gain knowledge of ourselves.

In Plato's Phaedrus, Socrates uses the maxim 'know thyself' as his explanation to Phaedrus to explain why he has no time for the attempts to rationally explain mythology or other far flung topics. Socrates says, "But I have no leisure for them at all; and the reason, my friend, is this: I am not yet able, as the Delphic inscription has it, to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things."[16]

In Plato's Protagoras, Socrates lauds the authors of pithy and concise sayings delivered precisely at the right moment and says that Lacedaemon, or Sparta, educates its people to that end. Socrates lists the Seven Sages as Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobulus, Myson, and Chilon, who he says are gifted in that Lacedaemonian art of concise words "twisted together, like a bowstring, where a slight effort gives great force."[17] Socrates says examples of them are, "the far-famed inscriptions, which are in all men's mouths,--'know thyself,' and 'nothing too much'.".[18] Having lauded the maxims, Socrates then explains what one of them means, the saying of Pittacus, 'Hard is it to be good.' The irony here is that although the sayings of Delphi bear 'great force,' it is not clear how to live life in accordance with their meanings. Although, the concise and broad nature of the sayings suggests the active partaking in the usage and personal discovery of each maxim; as if the intended nature of the saying lay not in the words but the self-reflection and self-referencing of the person thereof.

In Plato's Philebus dialogue, Socrates refers back to the same usage of 'know thyself' from Phaedrus to build an example of the ridiculous for Protarchus. Socrates says, as he did in Phaedrus, that people make themselves appear ridiculous when they are trying to know obscure things before they know themselves.[19] Plato also alluded to the fact that understanding 'thyself,' would have a greater yielded factor of understanding the nature of a human being.

Diogenes Laërtius in his account of the life of Pyrrho, the founder of Pyrrhonism that the Seven Sages of Greece were considered to be precursors of Pyrrho's philosophical skepticism because the Delphic Maxims were skeptical. "The maxims of the Seven Wise Men, too, they call skeptical; for instance, "Observe the Golden Mean," and "A pledge is a curse at one's elbow," meaning that whoever plights his troth steadfastly and trustfully brings a curse on his own head."[20]