For my first of the J's I want to address two Delphic maxims I hold very dear;

Judge incorruptibly (Αδωροδοκητος δικαζε)
Make just judgements (Κρινε δικαια)

I spoke to you earlier about my vow of temperance and what it means to me. These two maxims tie into it heavily. A large part of temperance is to refrain from judgement upon others. I judge myself heavily but try to leave another's decisions and actions to that other person. It is not up to me to influence another during their decision making process or judge them once made. 

Sometimes we do need to judge, however. Even I, who try not to. We need to decide if differences are unreconcilable,  if we can live with the choices we make, if other people are worthy of our attention and which one of our friends we'll support in case of a break-up.

Judging in objectivity is one of the hardest things a sentient being has to do. It means taking a step back from our (sometimes inflammatory) emotions and trying to see both sides of an argument. In a way, this is temperance in judgement.

Judge incorruptibly asks us to not only be above reproach when we judge but that any judgement we pass is solely based upon our own reasoning. We may listen to the words of others and take into account their behavior but in the end, we can only judge anyone if our own reasoning is sound.

Hellenismos gives us ethical guidelines to judge others by, if we are forced to do so. Yet, what these maxims mostly tell us is to become aware of how often we judge the world around us and those in it. First impressions can be deathly. In this world, people are judged on age, gender, skin color, sexual orientation and a good many other variables that we really can't help being born with. It's not constructive to society and humanity.

So keep these maxims in mind the next time you come upon someone or something new. Take a step back and find the source. You may discover a great many things about yourself, things you will need to know if you want to judge yourself or others in the future.