http://personal.ecu.edu/mccartyr/ancient/athens/Socrates.htm

The unexamined life is not worth living

http://bystander.homestead.com/unexamined.html

At his trial in 399BC by the citizens of Athens, Socrates declared that from his incessant questioning, he found his contemporaries spend their lives pursuing various goals — money, ambition, pleasure, physical security — without asking themselves if these were important. Unless they raised such a question and seriously sought the answer — through careful reflection, alert observation and critical arguments — they would not know if they were doing the right thing.

They might be wasting their energy, time and money in useless or even dangerous pursuits.

www.literatureclassics.com

The quote is an unexamined life is not worth living