Day 45 · Q1: Self-Knowledge · February 14, 2026
Pause. Breathe. Begin.
I . L E C T I O
Plato
Symposium, 215e-216a — Alcibiades' Speech
“When I listen to him, my heart pounds and tears stream down my face. He is the only person in the world who has made me feel shame — I know I should do what he says.”
C O N T E X T
Alcibiades, the brilliant but dissolute Athenian general, confesses the effect Socrates has on him. Socrates doesn't lecture; he simply makes others see themselves clearly. That clarity produces shame — and transformation.
I I . M E D I T A T I O
“Who in your life makes you see yourself clearly — and do you avoid them because of it?”
I I I . S C R I P T I O
Write one sentence about a person whose presence makes you want to be better.
I V . C O N N E X I O
Alcibiades reveals that self-knowledge often arrives through another person — not through solitary reflection alone. This complicated our earlier emphasis on inner retreat. Is self-knowledge social or solitary?
This practice exists because of readers like you.
Sustain it →Tomorrow's passage, delivered at dawn.