Plato, Complete works. Ed. John M. Cooper. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1997.

18 Apology
Apology 19
Socrates may be in claiming a pious motivation for his philosophical work, he
account. The position is this: this is my first appearance in a lawcourt, at
does set up human reason in his own person as the final arbiter of what is
the age of seventy; I am therefore simply a stranger to the manner of
right and wrong, and so of what the gods want us to do: he interprets Apollo,
through his oracle at Delphi, to have told him to do that! As we see also from speaking here. Just as if I were really a stranger, you would certainly
Euthyphro, he has no truck with the authority of myths or ancient poets or re­ excuse me if I spoke in that dialect and manner in which I had been 18
brought up, so too my present request seems a just one, for you to pay no
ligious tradition and 'divination' to tell us what to think about the gods and
attention to my manner of speech-be it better or worse-but to concentrate
their commands or wishes as regards ourselves.
your attention on whether what I say is just or not, for the excellence of
In democratic Athens, juries were randomly selected subsets-representa­
a judge lies in this, as that of a speaker lies in telling the truth.
tives-of the whole people. Hence, as Socrates makes clear, he is addressing the
democratic people of Athens, and when the jury find him guilty and condemn It is right for me, gentlemen, to defend myself first against the first lying
accusations made against me and my first accusers, and then against the
him to death, they act as and for the Athenian people. Did Socrates bring on
later accusations and the later accusers. There have been many who have b
his own condemnation, whether wittingly or not, by refusing to say the sorts
accused me to you for many years now, and none of their accusations are
of things and to comport himself in the sort of way that would have won his ac­
true. These I fear much more than I fear Anytus and his friends, though
quittal? Perhaps. True to his philosophical calling, he requires that the Atheni­
they too are formidable. These earlier ones, however, are more so, gentle­
ans think, honestly and dispassionately, and decide the truth of the charges by
reasoning from the facts as they actually were. This was his final challenge to men; they got hold of most of you from childhood, persuaded you and
accused me quite falsely, saying that there is a man called Socrates, a wise
them to care more for their souls-their minds, their power of reason-than for
man, a student of all things in the sky and below the earth, who makes C
their peace and comfort, undisturbed by the likes of him. Seen in that light, as
Plato wants us to see it, the failure was theirs. the worse argument the stronger. Those who spread that rumor, gentlemen,
J.M.C. are my dangerous accusers, for their hearers believe that those who study
these things do not even believe in the gods. Moreover, these accusers are
numerous, and have been at it a long time; also, they spoke to you at an
age when you would most readily believe them, some of you being children
17 I do not know, men of Athens, how my accusers affected you; as for and adolescents, and they won their case by default, as there was no de­
me, I was almost carried away in spite of myself, so persuasively did they fense.
speak. And yet, hardly anything of what they said is true. Of the many What is most absurd in all this is that one cannot even know or mention
lies they told, one in particular surprised me, namely that you should be their names unless one of them is a writer of comedies. 1 Those who mali­ d
b careful not to be deceived by an accomplished speaker like me. That they ciously and slanderously persuaded you-who also, when persuaded
were not ashamed to be immediately proved wrong by the facts, when I themselves then persuaded others-all those are most difficult to deal
show myself not to be an accomplished speaker at all, that I thought was with: one cannot bring one of them into court or refute him; one must
most shameless on their part-unless indeed they call an accomplished simply fight with shadows, as it were, in making one's defense, and cross­
speaker the man who speaks the truth. If they mean that, I would agree examine when no one answers. I want you to realize too that my accusers
that I am an orator, but not after their manner, for indeed, as I say, are of two kinds: those who have accused me recently, and the old ones
C practically nothing they said was true. From me you will hear the whole I mention; and to think that I must first defend myself against the latter,
truth, though not, by Zeus, gentlemen, expressed in embroidered and for you have also heard their accusations first, and to a much greater extent e
stylized phrases like theirs, but things spoken at random and expressed than the more recent.
in the first words that come to mind, for I put my trust in the justice of Very well then. I must surely defend myself and attempt to uproot from 19
what I say, and let none of you expect anything else. It would not be fitting your minds in so short a time the slander that has resided there so long.
at my age, as it might be for a young man, to toy with words when I I wish this may happen, if it is in any way better for you and me, and
appear before you. that my defense may be successful, but I think this is very difficult and I
One thing I do ask and beg of you, gentlemen: if you hear me making am fully aware of how difficult it is. Even so, let the matter proceed as
my defense in the same kind of language as I am accustomed to use in the god may wish, but I must obey the law and make my defense,
the market place by the bankers' tables, where many of you have heard Let us then take up the case from its beginning. What is the accusation
d me, and elsewhere, do not be surprised or create a disturbance on that from which arose the slander in which Meletus trusted when he wrote b

Translated by G.M.A. Grube. 1. This is Aristophanes. Socrates refers below (19c) to the character Socrates in his
Clouds (225 ff.), first produced in 423 B.C.
 Apology Apology 21
20
andered me?
has caused this reputation and slander. Listen then. Perhaps some of you
out the charge against me? What did they say when they sl will think I am jesting, but be sure that all that I shall sa y is true. What
d t ffi vit they would
I must, as if they were my actual prosecutors, re a he a da
has cau sed my reputation is none other than a certain kind of wisdom.
t : S c at s gu lty f w rongdoing
have sworn. It goes something like his o r es i i o
b elow the earth;
What kind of wi�dom? Human wisdom, perhaps. It may be that I really
in that he busies himself s tu d ying t hin g s in t he s ky and
_ while those whom I mentioned just now are wise with a
me p�ssess this, e
er argument, and he t eaches these sa
he makes the worse into the strong wISdom more than human; else I cannot explain it, for I certainly do not
c m y f A t p ,
things to others. You have seen this yourself in t he o ed o ris o hanes
possess 1t,_ and whoever says I do is lying and speaks to slander me. Do
d t lking
C
g w s w lki g i
a Socrates swinging about there, say in he a a n on a r an a
not create a disturbance, gentlemen, even if you think I am boasting, for
a lot of other nonsense about thin
gs of which I k now nothing at all. I do the story I shall tell does not originate with me, but I wi ll refer you to a
nowledge, if someone is wis e in
these
not speak in contempt of such k tr�stwo rthy source. I shall call upon the god at Delphi as witness to the
m -but , ge tl m n, I have
things-lest Meletus bring more cases against e n e e
ses. existence and nature of my wisdom, if it be such. You know Chaerephon. 21
ll up t m j rity f y u w t nes
no part in it, and on this po in t I ca
a o o o as i
He was �y fn_ end from youth, and the friend of most of you, as he shared
on he
t e f y u w v m e conversing, and
I think it ri ght that all hos o o ho ha e heard
your exile and your return. You surely know the kind of man he was
d many of you have, should tell each other
if anyone of you has ever heard
how i mpulsive in any cou rse of action. He went to Delphi at one tim�
rom this you will learn
me discussing such subjects to any extent at all. F a1_1d ventured to ask the oracle-,-as I say, gentlemen, do not create a
by th m j rity are of the same kind.
that the other things said about me e a o
disturb ance-he asked if any man was wiser than I, and the Pythian replied
. A if y u h v from anyone that I
Not one of them is tru e nd o a e heard
that no one was wis _ er. Chaerephon is dead, but his brother will testify to
that is not true either.
undertake .to teach people and charge a fee for it, you ab out this.
teach peo pl as Gorgias of Leontini
e Yet I think it a fine thing to be able to
e
2 Each of these men can Consider that I tell you this because I would inform you ab out the origin b
does, and Prodicus of C eos, and
Hippi as o f Eli s .
of the s lander. When I heard of this reply I asked myself: "Whate ver does
keep company with
go to any city and persuade the young, who can the god mean? What is his riddle? I am very conscious that I am not wise
20 anyone of their own fellow citizens they
want without paying, to leave
at all; w hat t�en d�es he me�I_l by saying that I am the wisest? For surely
y them a fee, and be
the company of these, to join with themselves, pa he does not he; 1t _ 1s not legitimate for him
_ to do so." For a long time I
t t th is another wise man
grateful to them besides. I ndeed, I l earne d ha ere
was �t a lo�s as to his meaning; then I very reluctantly tu rned to some
g u , f I met m wh o has spent more
from Paros who is visitin s or a an
such mvest1gah_ on as this; I went to one of those reputed wise, thinking
er, Callias, the son of
C
money on Sophists than everybody else put togeth _
-"C llias," I said, "if your !hat there, 1f anywhere, I could refute the oracle and say to it: "This man
Hipponicus. So I asked him-he has two sons
a
ge supervisor for them 1s wi_ ser than I, b ut you said I was." Then, when I examined this man­
sons were colts or calves, we cou ld
fi nd an d eng a a
liti , some horse b reeder
there is no nee� for me to tell you his name, he was one of our public
who would make them e xc e l in the i r p ro p er qu a es
b m�n-my experience was something like this: I thought that he appeared
or farmer. Now since they are men
, whom do you have in mind to supervise wise to many people and especially to himself, but he was not. I then tried
, the human and social
them? Who is an expert in this kind of excellence to show him that he thought himself wise, but that he was not. As a result d
t ug t t thi s since you have sons.
kind? I think you must have giv en ho h o
he came to dislike me, and so did many of the bystanders. So I withdrew
I sk , " i t re t?" "C ertainly there is," he
Is there such a person," a ed or s he no
and thought to mys elf: "I am wis er than this man; it is lik ely that neither
said. "Who is he ?" I asked, "Wha
t is his name, where is he from? and of us k nows anythmg _ worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something
he comes from Paros,
what is his fee?" "His name, Socrates, is Evenus, when he does not, whereas when I do not know, µeither do I think I k now;
ug t Ev h ppy man, if he really
and his fee is five minas." I tho
h enus a a
C
f . C ertainly I would pride
so I am likely to be wiser than he to this small extent, that I do not think
possesses this art, and teac hes for so m ode r a te a ee
I know what I do not know." After this I approached another man, one
and preen myself if I had this kno
wledge, but I do not have it, gentlemen. of those thought !o be wiser than he, and I thought the same thing, and e
Socrates, what is
One of you might perhaps interrupt me and say: "But _
so I came to be d1shked both by him and by many ot hers.
t l c m ? For surely if you
your occupation? From where hav e hese s ander s o e
c mm on, all these rumors
After that I proceeded systematically. I realized, to my sorrow and alarm
did not busy yourself wit h so met hin g o ut o f the o
less you did something other than most !hat I w as getting unpopular, but I thought that I must attach the greates;
and talk would not have arisen u n 1mport�nce to the god's oracle, so I must go to all those who had any
speak inadvisedly about you."
d people. Tell us what it is, that we may not reputation f?r knowledge to examine its meaning. And by the dog, gentle­ 22
Anyone who says that seems t o b e ri g h t, and I will try to show you what
�en o� t�e Jury-:--for I must tell you the truth-I experienced something
hke this: m my mvestigation in the service ofthe god I found that those
2. Thes e were all well-known Sophis ts. For Gorgias and Hippias s ee Plato' s dialogues who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those
named after them; both Hippia s and Prodicus appear in Protagoras.
 22 Apology Apology 23
who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable. I must give in hearing people questioned; they themselves often imitate me and try
you an account of my journeyings as if they were labors I had undertaken to question others. I think they find an abundance of men who believe
to prove the oracle irrefutable. After the politicians, I went to the poets, they have some knowledge but know little or nothing. The result is that
b the writers of tragedies and dithyrambs and the others, intending in their those whom they question are angry, not with themselves but with me. d
case to catch myself being more ignorant than they. So I took up those They say: "That man Socrates is a pestilential fellow who corrupts the
poems with which they seemed to have taken most trouble and asked young." If one asks them what he does and what he teaches to corrupt
them what they meant, in order that I might at the same time learn some­ them, they are silent, as they do not know, but, so as not to appear at a loss,
thing from them. I am ashamed to tell you the truth, gentlemen, but I they �;n�ion those accusations that are available against all philosophers,
must. Almost all the bystanders might have explained the poems better about thmgs in the sky and things below the earth," about "not believing
c than their authors could. I soon realized that poets do not compose their in the gods" and "making the worse the stronger argument"; they would
poems with knowledge, but by some inborn talent and by inspiration, like not want to tell the truth, I'm sure, that they have been proved to lay claim
seers and prophets who also say many fine things without any understand­ to knowledge when they know nothing. These people are ambitious, violent
ing of what they say. The poets seemed to me to have had a similar and numerous; they are continually and convincingly talking about me; e
experience. At the same time I saw that, because of their poetry, they they have been filling your ears for a long time with vehement slanders
thought themselves very wise men in other respects, which they were not. against me. From them Meletus attacked me, and Anytus and Lycan,
So there again I withdrew, thinking that I had the same advantage over Meletus being vexed on behalf of the poets, Anytus on behalf of the
them as I had over the politicians. craftsmen and the politicians, Lycon on behalf of the orators, so that, as I
d Finally I went to the craftsmen, for I was conscious of knowing practically started out by saying, I should be surprised if I could rid you of so much 24
nothing, and I knew that I would find that they had knowledge of many slander i � so short a_ tim�. That, g:ntlemen of the jury, is the truth for you.
fine things. In this I was not mistaken; they knew things I did not know, I have hidden or disgmsed nothmg. I know well enough that this very
and to that extent they were wiser than I. But, gentlemen of the jury, the conduct makes me unpopular, and this is proof that what I say is true
good craftsmen seemed to me to have the same fault as the poets: each of that �uch is_ th � slander against me, and that such are its causes. If yo� b
them, because of his success at his crpft, thought himself very wise in other look mto this either now or later, this is what you will find.
e most important pursuits, and this error of theirs overshadowed the wisdom Let this suffice as a defense against the charges of my earlier accusers.
they had, so that I asked myself, on behalf of the oracle, whether! should After_ this I shall try to defend myself against Meletus, that good and
prefer to be as I am, with neither their wisdom nor their ignorance, or to _
patnohc man, as he says he is, and my later accusers. As these are a
have both. The answer I gave myself and the oracle was that it was to my different lot of accusers, let us again take up their sworn deposition. It
advantage to be as I am. goes som :th�ng �ike this: So�rates is guilty of corrupting the young and
As a result of this investigation, gentlemen of the jury, I acquired much of not behevmg m the gods m whom the city believes, but in other new
23 unpopularity, of a kind that is hard to deal with and is a heavy burden; spiritual things? Such is their charge. Let us examine it point by point. C
many slanders came from these people and a reputation for wisdom, for �e says th�t I a� guilty of corrupting the young, but I say that Meletus is
in each case the bystanders thought that I myself possessed the wisdom that gmlty of_ deahng frivolously with serious matters, of irresponsibly bringing
I proved that my interlocutor did not have. What is probable, gentlemen, is people mto court, and of professing to be seriously concerned with things
that in fact the god is wise and that his oracular response meant that �bout none of which he has ever cared, and I shall try to prove that this
b human wisdom is worth little or nothing, and that when he says this man, �s so.Come here and tell me, Meletus. Surely you consider it of the greatest d
Socrates, he is using my name as an example, as if he said: "This man importance that our young men be as good as possible?-Indeed I do.
among you, mortals, is wisest who, like Socrates, understands that his Come
_ then, tell the jury who improves them. You obviously know, in
wisdom is worthless." So even now I continue this investigation as the view of your concern. You say you have discovered the one who corrupts
god bade me-and I go around seeking out anyone, citizen or stranger, !hem, name�y me, and you bring me here and accuse me to the jury.Come,
whom I think wise. Then if I do not think he is, I come to the assistance i1:1form the Jury and tell them who it is. You see, Meletus, that you are
of the god and show him that he is not wise. Because of this occupation, silent _a1:1d know not what to say. Does this not seem shameful to you and
I do not have the leisure to engage in public affairs to any extent, nor a suff1c1ent proof of what I say, that you have not been concerned with
indeed to look after my own, but I live in great poverty because of my any of this? Tell me, my good sir, who improves our young men?­ e
service to the god. The laws.
c Furthermore, the young men who follow me around of their own free That is not what I am asking, but what person who has knowledge of
will, those who have most leisure, the sons of the very rich, take pleasure the laws to begin with?-These jurymen, Socrates.
 24 Apology
Apology
25
H ow do you mean, M eletus? Are these able to educate the young and
improve them?-Certainly. the law requires one to bring those who are in need of punishment, not
All o f them, or some but not others?-All of them. of instruction.
Very good, by Hera. You mention_ a great abundance of bene actors. But And so, gentlemen of the jury, what I said is cl early t rue: Meletus has
;
b
never been at all concerned with these matters. Nonethel ess tell us, Meletus,
25
what about the audience? Do they improve the young or not.
-They do, too. how you say that I corrupt the young; or is it obvi ous from your deposition
. that it is by teaching them not to b elieve in th e gods in wh om th e city
What about the members of Council?-The Councillors, also.
But, Me letus, what about the assembly? Do members ?f the assembly believes but in other new spiritual things? Is this not what you say I teach
corrupt the y oung, or do they all improve the�?-�hey improve them. and so corrupt them?-That is most certainly what I do say.
All the Athenians, it seems, make the young mto fme good men except Then by those very gods about whom we are talking, Meletus, make
this clearer to me and to th e jury: I cannot b e sure wh eth er you mean that
C

me , and I alone corrupt the m. Is that what you mean?-That is most

definitely what I mean. I teach the belief that there are some gods-and therefore I myself beli eve
. that there are gods and am not altogether an atheist, nor am I guilty of
You condemn me to a great misfortune. Tell me: does this �ls� �PP1Y
that-not, however, the gods in wh om th e cit y b elieve s, but oth ers, and
b
to h orses do you think? That all men improve th e°'. a�d- one i1:1dividual
corrupts them? Or is quite the contrary true, one mdividual is abl� to that this is the charge against me, that they are others. Or whether you
improve them, or very few, namely, the horse breeders, whereas the maior­ mean that I do not believe in gods at all, and that this is what I teach to
it , if they have horses and use them, corrupt them? Is that _n?t the case, others.-This is what I mean, that you do not beli eve in gods at all.

Jeletus both with horses and all other animals? Of course it is, whet�er You are a strange fellow, M eletus. Why do you say this? Do I not believe, d
you and Anytus say so or not. It would be_ a very happ):' state of affairs as other men do, that the sun and th e moon are gods?-No, by Zeus,
if only one person corrupted our youth, while the others improved them. juryme n, for he says that the sun is stone, and the moon earth.
You have made it sufficiently obvious, M eletus, that you have never My dear Meletus, do you think you are prosecuting Anaxagoras? A re
you so contemptuous of the jury and think them so ignorant of letters as
C
had any concern for our y outh; you show your i1:1differenc_e clearly; t�at
you have giv en no thought to the subjects about which you bnng me to tr�al. not to know that the books of Anaxagoras of Clazomenae are full of those
And by Zeus, Meletus, tell us also whether it is better for a man to hve theories, and further, that the young men learn f rom me what they can e
among good or wicked fellow citizens. Ans:-ver, my good man, for I am buy from time to time for a drachma, at most, in the bookshops, and
not asking a difficult question. Do not the wicked do som� harm o those ridicule Socrates if he pretends that these theori es are his own, especially
who are ever clo sest to them, whereas good people benefit them.; as they are so absurd? Is that, by Zeus, what you think of me, Meletus,
-Certainly. that I d o not believe that there are any gods?-That is what I say, that
And does the man exist who would rather be harmed than b enefited you do not believe in the gods at all.
You cannot be believed, M eletus, even, I think, by yourself. The man
d
by his associates? Answer, my good sir, for the law orders you to answer.
Is there any man who wants to be harmed?-Of course not. appears to me, gentlemen of the jury, highly insolent and uncontrolled.
. He see ms to have made this depositi on out of insolence, violence and
Come now, do y ou accuse me here of corrup�ing the young and makmg 27
them worse deliberately or unwillingly?-Dehberately. youthful z eal. He is like one who composed a riddle and is trying it out:
What fellows, Meletus? Are y ou so much wiser at your age than I am "Will the wise Socrates realize that I am jesting and cont radicting myself,
or shall I deceive him and others?" I think he co ntradicts himself in the
e at mine . that y ou understand that wicked p eople always do some harm to
their closest ne ighbors while g ood people do them good, but I hav� reached affidav it, as if he said: "Socrates is guilty of not believing in gods but
such a pitch of ignorance that I do no t realize this, namely that_ if I make believing in gods," and surely that is the part of a jester !
one of my associates wicked I run t he risk of being harmed by him so that Examine with me, gentl eme n, h ow he appears to contradict himself, and b
I do such a great evil deliberately, as you say? I do not believe you, Meletus, you, M eletus, answer us. Re member, gentlemen, what I ask ed you when
26 d I do not think any one else will. Either I do not corrupt th� young or, I began, not to create a disturbance if I proceed in my usual manner.
�t
l do, it is unwillingly, and you are lying in either ca�e. Now if I corrupt Does any man, Meletus, believe in human activiti es who does not believe
them unwillingly, the law does not require you to brmg peop�e to court in humans? Make him answer, and not again and again create a distur­
for such unwilling wrongdoings, but to get hold of them privately, to bance. Does any man who does not believe in horses beli eve in horsemen's
instruct them and exhort them; for clearly, if I learn better, I sh_all cease activities? Or in flute-playing activities but not in flute-players? N o, my
to do what I am doing unwillingly. You, however, _ have av01ded my good sir, no man could. If you are not willing to answer, I will tell you
and the jury. Answer the next questi on, however. Does any man believe
C
company and were unwilling to instruct me, but you brmg me here, where
in spiritual activities who does not believe in spirits?-No one .
 Apology Apology 27
26
Thank you for answering, if reluctantly, when the jury made y ou. Now remain here, a laughingstock by the curved ships, a burden upon the
you say that I believe in spiritual things and teach about them, whether earth " _Do you think he gave thought to death and danger?
_-
new or old, but at any rate spiritual things according to what you say, This 1s the truth of the matter, gentlemen of the jury: wherever a man
and to this you have sworn in your deposition. But if I believe in spiritual has taken a position that he believes to be best, or has been placed by his
things I must quite inevitably believe in spirits. Is that not so? It is indeed. commander, there he must I think remain and face danger, without a
d I shall assume that you agree, as you do not answer. Do we not believe thought for death or anything else, rather than disgrace. It would have e
spirits to be either gods or the children of gods? Yes or no?-Of course. been a dreadful way to behave, gentlemen of the jury, if, at Potidaea,
Then since I do believe in spirits, as you admit, if spirits are gods, this Amphipolis and Delium, I had, at the risk of death, like anyone else,
is what I mean when I say you speak in riddles and in jest, as you state remained at my post where those you had elected to command had ordered
that I do not believe in gods and then again that I do, since I do believe me, and then, when the god ordered me, as I thought and believed, to
in spirits. If on the other hand the spirits are children of the gods, bastard live the life of a philosopher, to examine myself and others, I had abandoned 29
children of the gods by nymphs or some other mothers, as they are said my post for fear of death or anything else. That would have been a dreadful
to be, what man would believe children of the gods to exist, but not gods? thing, and then I might truly have justly been brought here for not believing
e That would be just as absurd as to believe the young of horses and asses, that th�re are gods, disobeying the oracle, fearing death, and thinking I
namely mules, to exist, but not to believe in the existence of horses and was wise when I was not. To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to
asses. You must have made this deposition, Meletus, either to test us or think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does
because you were at a loss to find any true wrongdoing of which to accuse not �now. No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all
me. There is no way in which you could persuade anyone of even small bless�ngs for a man, _y�t men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest
intelligence that it is possible for one and the same man to believe in of evils. And surely 1t 1s the most blameworthy ignorance to believe that b
28 spiritual but not also in divine things, and then again for that same man 01'.e knows what one does not know. It is perhaps on this point and in
to believe neither in spirits nor in gods nor in heroes. this respect, gentlemen, that I differ from the majority of men, and if I
I do not think, gentlemen of the jury, that it requires a prolonged defense w�re to claim that I am wiser than anyone in anything, it would be in
to prove that I am not guilty of the charges in Meletus' deposition, but !
this, that, as have no adequate knowledge of things in the underworld,
this is sufficient. On the other hand, you know that what I said earlier is so I do not thmk I have. I do know, however, that it is wicked and shameful
true, that I am very unpopular with many people. This will be my undoing, to do wrong, to disobey one's superior, be he god or man. I shall never
if I am undone, not Meletus or Anytus but the slanders and envy of many fear or avoid things of which I do not know, whether they may not be
b people. This has destroyed many other good men and will, I think, continue good rather than things that I know to be bad. Even if you acquitted me C

to do so. There is no danger that it will stop at me. now and did not believe Anytus, who said to you that either I should not
·- Someone might say: "Are you not ashamed, Socrates, to have followed have been brought here in the first place, or that now I am here, you
the kind of occupation that has led to your being now in danger of death?" cannot avoid executing me, for if I should be acquitted, your sons would
However, I should be right to reply to him: "You are wrong, sir, if you pr�ctice the_ teac�ings of S��rates and all be thoroughly corrupted; if you
think that a man who is any good at all should take into account the risk said !o me m this regard: Socrates, we do not believe Anytus now; we
of life or death; he should look to this only in his actions, whether what acqmt you, but only on condition that you spend no more time on this
c he does is right or wrong, whether he is acting like a good or a bad man." investiga�ion_ a�� do not practice philosophy, and if yo u are caught doing d
According to your view, all the heroes who died at Troy were inferior so you will die; if, as I say, you were to acquit me on those terms, I would
people, especially the son of Thetis who was so contemptuo us of danger say to you: "Gentlemen of the jury, I am grateful and I am your friend
compared with disgrace.3 When he was eager to kill Hector, his g oddess but I will obey the god rather than you, and as long as I draw breath and
mother warned him, as I believe, in some such words as these: "My child, am able, I shall 1:ot cease to practice philosophy, to exhort you and in my
if you avenge the death of yo ur comrade, Patroclus, and you kill Hector, y ou u�ual way to pomt out to any one of yo u whom I happen to meet: Good
will die yourself, for your death is to follow immediately after Hector's." Su, you are an Athenian, a citizen of the greatest city with the greatest
Hearing this, he despised death and danger and was much more afraid reputation for both wisdom and power; are you no t ashamed of your e
d to live a coward who did not avenge his friends. "Let me die at once," he eag_erness to possess as much wealth, reputation and honors as possible,
said, "when once I have given the wrongdoer his deserts, rather than wh1l � yo u do not care for nor give thought to wisdom or truth, or the best
possible state of your soul?" Then, if one of you disputes this and says he
!
d?es care, sha�l not let him go at once or leave him, but I shall question
3. See Iliad xviii. 94 ff.
him, examme him and test him, and if I do not think he has attained the