Three maxims are known to have been inscribed on the
Temple of Apollo at
Delphi at least as early as the 5th century BC, and possibly earlier. These inscriptions are routinely referenced and discussed by ancient authors;
Plato, for example, mentions them in six of his dialogues. Their exact location is uncertain; they are variously stated to have been on the wall of the
pronaos (forecourt), on a column, on a doorpost, on the temple front, or on the
propylaea (gateway). Although the temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the years, the maxims appear to have persisted into the
Roman era (1st century AD), at which time, according to
Pliny the Elder, they were written in letters of gold. The maxims are as follows: These sayings were traditionally said to have originated with the
Seven Sages, a legendary group of philosophers and statesmen who flourished in the 6th century BC. The first known reference to the Seven Sages is in Plato's
Protagoras, where they are said to have collectively authored the first two maxims. The names of the sages are given by Plato as
Thales,
Pittacus,
Bias,
Solon,
Cleobulus,
Myson and
Chilon; but in the works of later writers, some of these names are dropped and others added in their place. Each of the maxims was often attributed to a particular sage, and some authors, such as
Demetrius of Phalerum, assigned additional sayings to the four remaining sages. There was no general agreement over which maxim belonged to which sage, but "Know thyself" was most commonly attributed to Chilon. Another popular theory held that the maxims were first spoken by the Delphic oracle, and therefore represented the wisdom of the god
Apollo. In all likelihood, however, the sayings were simply common proverbs of much earlier date, which gained a new significance from their prominent position on the temple.
First maxim The first maxim, "know thyself", has been called "by far the most significant of the three maxims, both in ancient and modern times". In its earliest appearances in ancient literature, it was interpreted to mean that one should understand one's limitations and know one's place in the social scale. The first application of the phrase to self-knowledge in the modern sense occurs in Plato's
Phaedrus, in which Socrates says that he has no leisure to investigate the truth behind common mythological beliefs while he has not yet discovered the truth about his own nature. Many authors throughout history have considered knowledge of the self to involve knowledge of other people, knowledge of the universe, and/or knowledge of God; consequently, alongside its metaphysical, self-reflexive sense, the maxim has been applied in a host of different ways to problems of science, ethics, and theology.
Second maxim In ancient Greece, the maxim "nothing too much" was only rarely understood to mean that one should place limits on one's physical appetites, being far more commonly invoked as a reminder to avoid excessive emotion, particularly excessive grief. It was also quoted by ancient authors as a warning against pride, The maxim has been said to have received its "ultimate expression" in
Aristotle's theory of ethics, according to which every classical virtue occupies
a middle place between the two extremes of excess and deficiency. It is uncertain, however, whether the maxim was a direct influence on Aristotle, as it is not explicitly referenced in his
Nicomachean Ethics (although it does occur twice in another of his works, the
Rhetoric). Several other phrases of similar import were current among Greek writers, such as "The half is more than the whole" and "Due measure is best", both of which are found in
Hesiod's
Works and Days (). Interest in "nothing too much" dropped off during the medieval era, but it was frequently cited in the literature of the 16th and 17th centuries (often in its Latin form,
ne quid nimis). From this time onward, the rule of moderation enjoined by the maxim has been more frequently applied to physical pleasures than to emotional states. In
John Milton's
Paradise Lost, for example, the archangel Michael advises Adam to "observe the rule of
not too much ... in what thou eat'st and drink'st, seeking from thence due nourishment, not gluttonous delight". Such criticism may be traced back as far as
Pindar (5th century BC), who claimed that the philosophers of his day were excessive in their praise of the Delphic saying. Similarly, 20th‑century essayist
Paul Elmer More has argued that a too-rigorous adherence to the principle of moderation may have been the downfall of ancient Greek civilization.
Third maxim The third maxim, "give a pledge and trouble is at hand", has been variously interpreted. The Greek word , here translated "pledge", can mean either (a)
surety given for a loan; (b) a binding oath given during a marriage ceremony; or (c) a strong affirmation of any kind. Accordingly, the maxim may be a warning against any one of these things. The correct interpretation of the maxim was being debated as early as the 1st century BC, when
Diodorus Siculus discussed the question in his
Bibliotheca historica. In Plutarch's
Septem sapientium convivium, the ambiguity of the phrase is said to have "kept many from marrying, and many from trusting, and some even from speaking".
Diogenes Laërtius (3rd century AD) also makes reference to the maxim in his account of the life of
Pyrrho, the founder of
Pyrrhonism. Exploring the origins of the Pyrrhonean doctrine of
philosophical skepticism, Diogenes claims that the Delphic maxims are skeptical in nature, and interprets the third maxim to mean: "Trouble attends him who affirms anything in strong terms and confidently". Analysing the various appearances of the maxim in Greek literature, Eliza Wilkins finds the opinion of the ancient authors on the meaning of split between the two rival interpretations of "commit yourself emphatically" and "become surety". Among Latin authors, however, the maxim is universally interpreted in the latter sense, as advice against giving surety. == 147 maxims of Stobaeus ==