Discourse-analytic, media-historical, and genre-theoretical approaches are combined here to cast new light on the pre-history of modern subjectivity and its literary representation. Of central concern is the connection between reading, writing, and the constitution of the Subject. The study reveals the ancient roots of this writing-based form of subjectivity, reveals its affinity to specific literary forms of representation, and traces its transformation in the transition to the Christian Middle Ages and the early modern age.