Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes

There is no self-knowledge except historical self-knowledge.

No one has ever learned fully to know themselves.

People who do not understand themselves have a craving for understanding — a thing which is rather surmised and never spoken than known and clothed in words.

We must remember that knowledge of one’s own deep nature is also simultaneously knowledge of human nature in general.

The ultimate mystery is one's own self.

Only the shallow know themselves.

Know thyself.

We're not the best about knowing what's the most interesting about ourselves.

We have to have a very clear understanding of ourselves.

People seem to know more about me than I do.

There's only one person who knows me - and that's me.

To every man in the world there is one person of whom he knows little: whom he would never recognize if he met him walking down the street, whose motives are a mystery to him. That is himself.

I see the ups and downs. I see the mistakes I've made. I see a funny person. I see a serious person. I see a diamond. I see the good times. I see the bad times. And I see knowledge of self. I see knowledge of self. I know who I am. When I look in the mirror, I see me.

I like when people know exactly, have a good sense of themselves, and know exactly what's good for them, I admire that, but I don't have anywhere near that kind of perspective on my own.

Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know.

If I do not understand myself, the whole complexity of myself, I have no basis for thinking.

To know nothing about yourself is to live. To know yourself badly is to think.

To know one’s own state is not a simple matter. One cannot look directly at one’s own face with one’s own eyes, for example. One has no choice but to look at one’s reflection in the mirror. Through experience, we come to believe that the image is correct, but that is all.

If a man really knew himself he would utterly despise the ignorant notions others might form on a subject in which he had such matchless opportunities for observation.

We read books to find out who we are.

Inner Nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled. But many people do not look at it or listen to it, and consequently do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect for themselves, and are therefore easily influenced by others.

I've been living with myself all of my life, so I know all of me. So when I watch me, all I see is me. It's boring.

You know more about me than I do about myself, that's probably true.

My personality doesn't interest me.

If you ask me to play myself, I will not know what to do. I do not know who or what I am.