What is that Monster? - Part 3 (“Know Thyself”)
-“Which creature has one voice, walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?”
-”Man.”
How is simply providing the answer to a riddle enough for Oedipus to destroy the mighty sphinx? Is there power in the word “man”, or is strength in the voice delivering it? Maybe, but the destructive force of the answer is in understanding, and like most threshold guardians the monster is born of our own deficiencies and shortcomings; overcoming it only happens with a deep realization of some truth.
The battle with the sphinx (ignorance) is not fought out there with swords and arrows, but internally. “The first victory of the wise”, as the emblem states, “is to know the man”. If we take a hard look at ourselves, like Socrates, we come to the realization that we are ignorant of nearly everything. Oddly enough the realization of ignorance is the opening of the gate to real knowledge, knowing that we know nothing is the first step towards wisdom. When Socrates visited the oracle at Delphi, he was told he was the wisest man, primarily for the fact he admitted his ignorance. Interestingly this story of Socrates brings the final piece of the emblem puzzle to light—the “Delphic letter”.
The Delphic Epsilon, a symbol of the compositional elements of man and the light of Apollo.
The Delphic letter refers to the Delphic Epsilon, which was prominently featured on the pediment above the entrance to the Oracle at Delphi—an extremely famous temple area in the ancient world—a place where one could receive a revelation from the gods, specifically Apollo. An entire discussion could be had around the symbolic importance of the Delphic Epsilon, though in conjunction with that symbol, was another more famous inscription written on the pediment—“Know Thyself”—this is where we will focus our attention.
There might be many ways to understand the statement, “know thyself”, but it’s fairly clear from tradition it was a call to understand what the human being is and how the reader contemplating this statement should view themselves as one such member of the human race. It’s saying that in order for you to have knowledge of anything else you first should understand what the subject is which is seeking that knowledge. What and how we experience the world, which is a primary factor of our knowledge, is filtered through our senses, mind, and spirit which are all human. Another creature may experience things differently, and though the truth is one and unchanging, our paths toward it through knowledge are different; knowing the filter (ourselves) is critical to achieving the proper end.
In coming to know thyself, we realize our limitations, ultimately leading to humility. Being humble means understanding yourself in context, your place among all creation, no greater or less than what you really are. Humility is sometimes mistaken as a feeling of lowliness or inferiority. This may be true when we think on the grand scale of creation and ourselves in relation to God or the angels, but in the hierarchy we are above many lesser creatures, and amidst all humanity, each person is made equal in dignity. Humility is the weapon defeating pride and not to be thought of as its opposite extreme. According to Aristotle, virtue is found in the mean between extremes. This is where humility lies, between pride and worthlessness, and humility is the root of all the virtues.
Detail from “Oedipus and the Sphinx”, Gustave Moreau 1864.
On the path to wisdom Oedipus was confronted by his own ignorance. The only way to proceed, to become king, was to take a good hard look at himself and come to the understanding that he as a man, despite what others might say or his own ego tells him, is ignorant. Ignorance therefore is defeated by becoming aware of itself, by becoming humble, because that is a true piece of knowledge.
I hope you enjoyed this first analysis of one of Alciato’s emblems. Let me know what you think of all this. Is it confusing? Do you feel like the analysis and conclusions I come to are way off or do they have a ring of truth? Is it all interesting enough to keep you wanting to see more, or is it a boring slough? If you have anything to add or come to some insight of your own, I’d also like to hear it.