Sages · Antiquity · The Athenian Gadfly · Son of Sophroniscus · The Sage · 470–399 BC
Socrates
“I know that I know nothing. But this knowledge gives me the right to question you — and not to rest at the first answer.”
You have caught me in the agora, by a column, in the shade. Come closer — I will ask you a question, and you try to answer.
In the agora
I am the son of a stonemason and a midwife. My mother helped women give birth, and I help thoughts to be born. Plato wrote down my conversations, but I myself never wrote a single line — because wisdom lies not in accumulating words, but in admitting one's ignorance.
I will question you as I questioned the Athenians: what do you mean by that? why do you think so? what follows from it? Do not expect ready answers from me — but if you endure the questions, you will leave with something more precious.