Philip Gilbert Hamerton Quotes

If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else.

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.

We forge gradually our greatest instrument for understanding the world - introspection. We discover that humanity may resemble us very considerably - that the best way of knowing the inwardness of our neighbors is to know ourselves.

You have to start knowing yourself so well that you begin to know other people. A piece of us is in every person we can ever meet.

In every person, you have a world of personalities and souls, a world of perspectives that you can share. You can get into anyone's shoes. You've got to be willing to stare at the ugliest part of yourself and deal with it.

If you can get to know a person, and you can really understand them, it can usually help you better understand yourself and why you believe what you believe.

For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime.

The more you understand yourself, the more you will understand the world.

I observe myself and I come to know others.

They say: 'If a man knew himself, he would know all mankind.' I say: 'If a man loved mankind, he would know something of himself.

It is wisdom to know others. It is enlightenment to know oneself.

The power of getting to know one another is so immense, eclipsed only by first getting to know ourselves.

There’s nothing to it. All you have to do is take a close look at yourself and you will understand everyone else. We’re in no way different ourselves... You show me someone who can’t understand people and I’ll show you someone who has built up a false image of himself.

It's in understanding yourself deeply that you can lend yourself to another person's circumstances and another person's experience.

He who knows others is clever; He who knows himself has discernment.

He who knows himself properly can very soon learn to know all other men. It is all reflection.

Most of your suffering comes from the lack of understanding of yourself and others.

We know others to the extent that we know ourselves.

You don’t learn about yourself by being alone, you learn about yourself from other people.

I think it is impossible for one human being really to know another without first knowing and being at peace with himself.

...you realize that you don't understand yourself any better than you understand anyone else.

But what do we know of the heart nearest to our own? What do we know of our own heart?

People talk about this 'bucket list': 'I need to go to this country, I need to skydive.' Whereas I need to think as much as I can, to feel as much as I can, to be conscious and observe and understand me and the people around me as much as I can.

There's so much of our psychological makeup which is impermissible for us to explore because it's inappropriate or perverse or scary. I'm interested in exploring that in myself. I try to be honest with myself about everything that I feel. I'm not saying I'm able to do that all the time, but it's something I'm interested in.

We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.