Expert: Maria - 11/26/2007

Question
How do you say Know thyself in Latin? Thanks! Is it Temel Nosic? Thanks nancy

Answer
Hello,

The saying “Know thyself” is merely the translation of a Greek sentence ("Gnothi sauton”) which was carved on the pediment of the temple of Apollo at Delphi,seat of the most important Greek temple and oracle of Apollo (the Delphic oracle).

As for the Latin text of this Greek maxim, we have two  translations meaning the same.

Here they are:

-“Temet nosce” (not “Temel Nosic” which does not exist in Latin)

-“Nosce te ipsum”

Have a nice day,
Maria
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GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS

-Know=  NOSCE (imperative, 2nd.person singular, from the verb NOSCO [I know], 3rd.conjugation)

-Thyself = TEMET (accusative of the pronoun TU meaning ‘you’/ thy’  plus the enclitic particle –MET meaning ‘self’,  as –MET is an intensifying particle)  or  TE IPSUM (accusative of the pronoun TU meaning ‘you’/ thy’ plus the accusative masculine singular of the pronoun IPSE meaning ‘self’).

As for the Greek text “Gnòthi sautòn” note that:

-GNOTHI (athematic aorist imperative, 2nd.person singular, of the verb ‘Gignósko’, I know) = know

-SAUTON (personal pronoun, 2nd.person singular, accusative case) = thyself

Please note that this is a Latin transliteration, i.e. vritten in Latin fonts,  since unfortunately the system does not allow the use of the Greek letters and therefore I had  to write the Greek sentence into corresponding letters of Latin alphabet.