Plato s Apology of Socrates

Plato s Apology of Sorats How you, mn of Athns, hav n afft y my ausrs, I o not know 1. For my part, vn I narly forgot myslf aus of thm, so prsuasivly i thy spak. An yt thy hav sai, so to spak, nothing tru. I wonr most at on of th many falshoos thy tol, whn thy sai that you shoul war that you ar not iv y m, sin I am a lvr spakr. Thy ar not asham that thy will immiatly rfut y m in, as soon as it oms apparnt that I am not a lvr spakr at all; this sm to m to most shamlss of thm unlss of ours thy all a lvr spakr th on who spaks th truth. For if this is what thy ar saying, thn I too woul agr that I am an orator ut not of thir sort. So thy, as I say, hav sai littl or nothing tru, whil from m you will har th whol truth ut y Zus, mn of Athns, not autifully spokn sphs lik thirs, aorn with phrass an wors; rathr, what you har will spokn at ranom in th wors that I happn upon for I trust that th things I say ar just an lt non of you xpt othrwis. For surly it woul not oming, mn, for somon of my ag to om for you fariating sphs lik a youth. An, mn of Athns, I o vry muh g an sh this of you: if you har m spaking in my fns 2 with th sam sphs I am austom to spak oth in th marktpla at th mony tals, whr many of you hav har m, an ls whr, o not wonr or mak a isturan 3 aus of this. For this is how it is: now is th first tim I hav om for a law ourt, at th ag of svnty; hn I am simply 4 forign to th mannr of sph hr. So just as, if I rally i happn to a forignr, you woul surly sympathiz with m if I spok in th ialt an way in whih I was rais, so also I o g this of you now (an it is just, at last as it sms to m): lav asi th mannr of my sph for prhaps it may wors, ut prhaps ttr an insta onsir this vry thing an apply your min to this: whthr th things I say ar just or not. For this is th virtu 5 of a jug, whil that of an orator is to spak th truth. So first, mn of Athns, it is just for m to spak in fns against th first fals hargs against m an th first ausrs, an nxt against th latr hargs an th latr ausrs. For many hav aus m to you, vn long ago, talking now for many yars an saying nothing tru; an I far thm mor than Anytus 6 an thos aroun him, although thy too ar angrous. But th othrs ar mor angrous, mn. Thy got hol of th many of you from hilhoo, an thy aus m an prsua you although it is no mor tru than th prsnt harg that thr is a rtain Sorats, a wis man 7 a thinkr 8 on th things aloft, who has invstigat all things unr th arth, an who maks th wakr 17a 17 18a 18 1

sph th strongr. 9 Thos, mn of Athns, who hav sattr this rport aout, ar my angrous ausrs. For thir listnrs hol that invstigators of ths things also o not liv in gos. Bsis, thr ar many of ths ausrs, an thy hav n ausing for a long tim now. Morovr, thy spok to you at th ag whn you wr most trusting, whn som of you wr hilrn an youths, an thy aus m in a as that simply wnt y fault, for no on spok in my fns. An th most unrasonal thing of all is that it is not vn possil to know an to say thir nams, unlss a rtain on happns to a omi pot. 10 Thos who prsua you y using nvy an slanr an thos who prsua othrs, aftr ing onvin thmslvs all of ths ar most iffiult to gt at. For it is also not possil to hav any of thm om forwar hr an to rfut him, ut it is nssary for m simply to spak in my fns as though fighting with shaows an rfuting with no on to answr. So you too must m it to as I say: that thr hav n two groups of ausrs, th ons ausing m now, an th othrs long ago of whom I spak: an you must also suppos that I shoul first spak in fns against th lattr, for you har thm ausing m arlir an muh mor than ths latr ons hr. Wll, thn, a fns sph must ma, mn of Athns, an an attmpt must ma in this short tim to tak away from you this slanr, whih you aquir ovr a long tim. Now I woul wish that it may turn out lik this, if it is in any way ttr oth for you an for m, an that I may aomplish somthing y making a fns sph. But I suppos this is har, an I am not at all unawar of what sort of thing it is. Nvrthlss, lt this pro in whatvr way is ar to th go, ut th law must oy an a fns sph must ma. So lt us tak up from th ginning what th ausation is, from whih has arisn th slanr against m whih, in fat, is what Mltus 11 trust in whn h rought this initmnt against m. Wll, thn. What i th slanrrs say to slanr m? Thir sworn statmnt, just as though thy wr ausrs, must ra: Sorats os injusti 12 an is mlsom, y invstigating th things unr th arth an th havnly things, an y making th wakr sph th strongr, an y tahing othrs ths sam things. It is somthing lik this. For you yourslvs also us to s ths things in th omy of Aristophans: a rtain Sorats was arri aroun thr, laiming that h was traing on air an spouting muh othr rivl aout whih I hav no xprtis, ithr muh or littl. 13 An I o not say this to ishonor this sort of knowlg, 14 if anyon is wis in suh things (may I nvr prosut with suh grat lawsuits y Mltus!); ut in fat I, mn of Athns, hav no shar in ths things. Again, I offr th many 15 19a 19a 2

of you as witnsss, an I maintain that you shoul tah an tll ah othr, thos of you who hav vr har m onvrsing an thr ar many suh among you tll ah othr, thn, if any of you vr har m onvrsing aout suh things, ithr muh or littl, an from this you will rogniz that th sam hols also for th othr things that th many say aout m. But in fat non of ths things is so; an if you hav har from anyon that I attmpt to uat human ings an mak mony from it, that is not tru ithr. Though this too sms to m to nol, 16 if on shoul al to uat human ings, lik Gorgias of Lontini, an Proius of Cos, an Hippias of Elis. 17 For ah of thm, mn, is al, going into ah of th itis, to prsua th young who an assoiat with whomvr of thir own itizns thy wish to for fr thy prsua ths young mn to lav off thir assoiations with th lattr, an to assoiat with thmslvs insta, an to giv thm mony an aknowlg gratitu sis. An as for that, thr is anothr man hr, from Paros, a wis man, who I priv was in town; for I happn to mt a man who has pai mor mony to sophists than all th othrs, Callias, th son of Hipponius. 18 So I qustion him (for h has two sons): Callias, I sai, If your two sons ha n orn olts or alvs, w woul hav n al to gt an hir an ovrsr for thm who oul mak th two of thm nol an goo 19 in thir appropriat virtu, an h woul hav n somon from among thos skill with horss or skill in farming. But as it is, sin thy ar two human ings, whom o you hav in min to gt as an ovrsr 20 for th two of thm? Who is knowlgal in suh virtu, that of human ing an itizn? 21 For I suppos you hav onsir it, sin you possss sons. Is thr somon, I sai, or not? Quit so, h sai. Who, I sai, an whr is h from, an for how muh os h tah? Evnus, h sai, Sorats, from Paros: fiv mina. 22 An I rgar Evnus as lss if h shoul truly hav this art 23 an tahs at suh a most rat. As for myslf, I woul pluming 24 an priing myslf on it if I ha knowlg of ths things. But I o not hav knowlg of thm, mn of Athns. Prhaps, thn, on of you might rtort, Wll, Sorats, what is your affair? 25 Whr hav ths slanrs against you om from? For surly if you wr in fat pratiing nothing mor unommon than othrs, suh a rport an aount woul not thn hav arisn, unlss you wr oing somthing iffrnt from th many. So tll us what it is, so that w o not al unavisly with you. In this, it sms to m, what th spakr says is just, an I will try to monstrat to you what vr it is that has rought m this 19 20a 20 3

nam an slanr. So listn. Now prhaps I will sm to som of you to joking. Know wll, howvr, that I will tll you th whol truth. For I, mn of Athns, hav gottn this nam through nothing ut a rtain wisom. Just what sort of wisom is this? That whih is prhaps human wisom; for proaly I rally am wis in this. But thos of whom I just spok might prhaps wis in som wisom gratr than human, or ls I annot say what it is. For I, at last, o not hav knowlg of it, ut whovr assrts that I o lis an spaks in orr to slanr m. Now plas, mn of Athns, o not mak a isturan, not vn if I sm to you to oasting somwhat. For not min is th story 26 that I will tll; rathr, I will rfr it to a spakr trustworthy to you. Of my wisom, if in it is wisom of any kin, an what sort of thing it is, I will offr for you as witnss th go in Dlphi. Now you know Charphon, no out. H was my omra from youth as wll as a omra of your multitu, an h shar in your rnt xil an rturn with you. You o know what sort of man Charphon was, how vhmnt h was in whatvr h woul st out to o. 27 An in partiular h on vn wnt to Dlphi an ar to onsult th oral aout this now as I say, o not mak isturans, mn an h ask whthr thr was anyon wisr than I. Th Pythia 28 rpli that no on was wisr. An onrning ths things his rothr hr will a witnss for you, sin h himslf has mt his n. Now onsir why I say ths things: I am going to tah you whr th slanr against m has om from. Whn I har ths things, I ponr thm lik this: What vr is th go saying, an what ril is h posing? For I am onsious that I am not at all wis, ithr muh or littl. So what vr is h saying whn h laims that I am wisst? Surly h is not saying somthing fals, at last; for that is not santion for him. An for a long tim I was at a loss aout what vr h was saying, ut thn vry rlutantly I turn to somthing lik th following invstigation of it. I wnt to on of thos rput 29 to wis, on th groun that thr, if anywhr, I woul rfut th ivination 30 an show th oral, This man is wisr than I, ut you lar that I was wisst. So I onsir him thoroughly I n not spak of him y nam, ut h was on of th politiians 31 an whn I onsir him an onvrs with him, mn of Athns, I was afft somthing lik this: it sm to m that this man sm to wis, oth to many othr human ings an most of all to himslf, ut that h was not. An thn I tri to show him that h suppos h was wis, ut was not. So from this I am hatful oth to him an to many of thos prsnt. For my part, as I wnt away, I rason with rgar to myslf: I am wisr than this human ing. For proaly nithr of us knows 20 21a 21 4

anything nol an goo, ut h supposs h knows somthing whn h os not know, whil I, just as I o not know, o not vn suppos that I o. I am likly to a littl it wisr than h in this vry thing: that whatvr I o not know, I o not vn suppos I know. From thr I wnt to somon ls, to on of thos rput to wisr than h, an ths things sm to m to th sam. An thr I am hatful oth to him an to many othrs. Aftr this, thn, I kpt going to on aftr anothr, all th whil priving with pain an far that I was oming hat. Nvrthlss it sm to nssary to rgar th mattr of th go as most important. So I ha to go, in onsiring what th oral was saying, to all thos rput to know somthing. An y th og, 32 mn of Athns for it is nssary to spak th truth for you I swar I was afft somthing lik this: thos with th st rputations sm to m narly th most fiint, in my invstigation in aoran with th go, whil othrs with mor paltry rputations sm to mn mor fit in rgar to ing prunt. 33. In, I must isplay my wanring to you as a prforming of rtain laors 34 so that th ivination woul turn out to unrfut. Aftr th politiians I wnt to th pots, thos of tragis an ithyrams, an th othrs, in orr that thr I woul ath myslf in th at of ing mor ignorant than thy. So I woul tak up thos poms of thirs whih it sm to m thy ha work on th most, an I woul ask thm thoroughly what thy mant, so that I might also larn somthing from thm at th sam tim. I am asham to tll you th truth, mn; nvrthlss, it must sai. Almost vryon prsnt, so to spak, woul hav spokn ttr than th pots i aout th potry that thy thmslvs ha ma. So again, also onrning th pots, I soon rogniz that thy o not mak what thy mak y wisom, ut y som sort of natur an whil inspir, lik th ivinrs an thos who livr arals. 35 For thy too say many nol things, ut thy know nothing of what thy spak. It was apparnt to m that th pots ar also afft in th sam sort of way. At th sam tim, I priv that thy suppos, on aount of thir potry, that thy wr th wisst of human ings also in th othr things, in whih thy wr not. So I wnt away from thr too supposing that I ha turn out to suprior to thm in th vry sam thing in whih I was to th politiians. Finally, thn, I wnt to th manual artisans. For I was onsious that I ha knowlg of nothing, so to spak, ut I knw that I woul isovr that thy, at last, ha knowlg of many nol things. An I was not play fals aout this: thy i hav knowlg of things whih I i not hav knowlg of, an in this way thy wr wisr than I. But, mn of Athns, th goo raftsmn 22a 22 5

also sm to m to go wrong in th sam way as th pots: aus h prform his art noly, ah on m himslf wisst also in th othr things, th gratst things an this isorant not of thirs sm to hi that wisom. So I ask myslf m half of th oral whthr I woul prfr to as I am, ing in no way wis in thir wisom or ignorant in thir ignoran, or to hav oth things that thy hav. I answr myslf an th oral that it profits m to just as I am. This is th xamination, mn of Athns, from whih I hav inurr many hatrs, th sort that ar harshst an gravst, so that many slanrs hav arisn from thm, an I got this nam of ing wis. For thos prsnt on ah oasion suppos that I myslf am wis in th things onrning whih I rfut somon ls, whras it is proal, mn, that rally th go is wis, an that in this oral h is saying that human wisom is worth littl or nothing. An h appars to say this of Sorats an to hav ma us of my nam in orr to mak m a pattrn, as if h woul say, That on of you, 0 human ings, is wisst, who, lik Sorats, has om ognizant that in truth h is worth nothing with rspt to wisom. That is why vn now I still go aroun sking an invstigating in aoran with th go any townsman or forignr I suppos to wis. An whnvr somon os not sm so to m, I om to th go s ai an show that h is not wis. An aus of this oupation, I hav ha no lisur, ithr to o any of th things of th ity worth spaking of or any of th things of my family. Insta, I am in tn thousanfol povrty aus of my votion to th go. In aition to ths things, th young who follow m of thir own aor thos who hav th most lisur, th sons of th walthist njoy haring human ings xamin. An thy thmslvs oftn imitat m, an in turn thy attmpt to xamin othrs. An thn, I suppos, thy isovr a grat aunan of human ings who suppos thy know somthing, ut know littl or nothing. Thrupon, thos xamin y thm ar angry at m, not at thmslvs, an thy say that Sorats is somon most isgusting an that h orrupts th young. An whnvr somon asks thm, By oing what an tahing what? thy hav nothing to say, ut ar ignorant. So in orr not to sm to at a loss, thy say th things that ar ray at han against all who philosophiz: th things aloft an unr th arth an not living in gos an making th wakr sph th strongr. For I o not suppos thy woul willing to spak th truth, that it oms quit lar that thy prtn to know, ut know nothing. So sin thy ar, I suppos, amitious an vhmnt an many, an sin thy spak aout m in an organiz an prsuasiv 23a 23 6

way, thy hav fill up your ars, slanring m vhmntly for a long tim. From among ths mn, Mltus attak m, an Anytus an 36 Lyon, Mltus ing vx on half of th pots, Anytus on half of th raftsmn an th politiians, an Lyon on half of 24a th orators. Thrfor, as I sai whn I gan, it woul a wonr to m if I shoul al in this short tim to tak away from you this slanr whih has om so grat. This is th truth for you, mn of Athns; I am hiing nothing from you ithr grat or small in my sph, nor am I holing anything ak. An yt I 24 a know rathr wll that I inur hatr y ths vry things; whih is also a proof that I spak th truth, an that this is th slanr against m, an that ths ar its auss. Whthr you invstigat ths things now or latr, you will isovr that this is so. So aout th things whih th first ausrs aus m of, lt this a suffiint fns sph for you. But against Mltus, th goo an patrioti, as h says, an th latr ausrs, I will try to spak nxt in my fns. Now again, just as though ths wr othr ausrs, lt us tak up thir sworn statmnt. It is somthing lik this: it assrts that Sorats os injusti y orrupting th young, an y not living in th gos in whom th ity livs, ut in othr aimonia 37 that ar novl. Th harg is of this sort 38 But lt us xamin ah on of th parts of this harg. Now h assrts that I o injusti y orrupting th young. But I, mn of Athns, assrt that Mltus os injusti, in that h jsts in a srious mattr, asily ringing human ings to trial, prtning to srious an onrn aout things for whih h nvr ar 39 at all. That this is so, I will try to isplay to you as wll. Now om hr, Mltus, tll m: o you not rgar it as most important how th youth will th st possil? [MELETUS] 40 I o. [SOCRATES] Com now, tll ths mn, who maks thm ttr? For it is lar that you know, sin you ar, at last. For sin you hav isovr th on who orrupts thm, as you say, namly m, you ar ringing m for ths mn an ausing m. But th on who maks thm ttr om, tll thm an rval to thm who it is. Do you s, Mltus, that you ar silnt an hav nothing to 24 say? An yt os it not sm to shamful to you, an a suffiint proof of just what I say, that you hav nvr ar? But tll, my goo man, who maks thm ttr? [MELETUS] Th laws. [SOCRATES] But I am not asking this, st of mn, ut rathr what human ing is it who knows first of all this vry thing, th laws? [MELETUS1 Ths mn, Sorats, th jugs. [SOCRATES] What ar you saying, Mltus? Ar ths mn hr 7

al to uat th young, an o thy mak thm ttr? [MELETUS1 Vry muh so. [SOCRATES] All of thm, or som of thm, an som not? [MELETUS] All of thm. [SOCRATES] Wll sai, y Hra, 41 an you spak of a grat aunan of nfitrs. What thn? Do th listnrs hr mak thm ttr or not? [MELETUS] Ths too. [SOCRATES] An what aout th Counilmn? 42 [MELETUSJ Th Counilmn too. [SOCRATES] Wll, Mltus, thn surly thos in th Assmly, 43 th Assmlymn, o not orrupt th youth? Or o all thos too mak thm ttr? [MELETUS] Thos too. [SOCRATES] Thn all th Athnians, as it appars, mak thm nol an goo xpt m, an I alon orrupt thm. Is this what you ar saying? [MELETUS] I o say this, most vhmntly. [SOCRATES] You hav harg m with grat misfortun. Now answr m. Dos it sm to you to so also onrning horss? That all human ings mak thm ttr, whil on rtain on is th orruptr? Or is it wholly opposit to this, that on rtain on is al to mak thm ttr or vry fw, thos skill with horss whil th many, if thy vr assoiat with horss an us thm, orrupt thm? Is this not so, Mltus, oth onrning horss, an all th othr animals? Of ours it is, altogthr so, whthr you an Anytus ny or affirm it. For it woul a grat happinss for th young if on alon orrupts thm, whil th othrs nfit thm. But in fat, Mltus, you hav suffiintly isplay that you nvr yt gav an thought to th young. An you ar making your own lak of ar plainly apparnt, sin you hav ar nothing aout th things for whih you ring m in hr. But tll us furthr, Mltus, for Zus, whthr it is ttr to wll among upright itizns or villainous ons? Sir, answr. For surly I am asking nothing har. Do not th villainous o somthing a to whovr ar narst to thm, whil th goo o somthing goo? [MELETUS] Quit so. [SOCRATES] Is thr anyon, thn, who wishs to harm y thos h assoiats with, rathr than to nfit? Kp answring, my goo man. For th law orrs you to answr. Is thr anyon who wishs to harm? [MELETUS] Of ours not. [SOCRATES] Com thn, o you ring m in hr saying that I voluntarily orrupt th young an mak thm mor villainous, or 25a 25 8

involuntarily? [MELETUS] Voluntarily, I say. [SOCRATES] What thn, Mltus? Ar you so muh wisr at your ag than I at min, that you hav om ognizant that th a always o somthing a to thos who ar losst to thm, an th goo o somthing goo; whras I hav om into so muh ignoran that I am not vn ognizant that if I vr o somthing wrth to any of my assoiats, I will risk gtting ak somthing a from him? So that I o so muh a voluntarily, as you assrt? Of this I am not onvin y you, Mltus, nor, o I suppos, is any othr human ing. But ithr I o not orrupt, or if I o orrupt, I o it involuntarily, so in oth ass what you say is fals. An if I orrupt involuntarily, th law is not that you ring m in hr for suh involuntary wrongs, ut that you tak m asi in privat to tah an amonish m. For it is lar that if I larn, I will at last stop oing what I o involuntarily. But you avoi assoiating with m an tahing m, an you wr not willing to, ut insta you rought m in hr, whr th law is to ring in thos in n of punishmnt, not larning. But in fat, mn of Athns, what I was saying is alray lar, that Mltus nvr ar aout ths things ithr muh or littl. Nvrthlss, spak to us, how o you say that I orrupt th youth, Mltus? Or is it lar, aoring to th initmnt that you rought, that it is y tahing thm not to liv in th gos in whom th ity livs, ut in othr aimonia that ar novl? Do you not say that it is y tahing ths things that I orrupt thm? [MELETUSI I rtainly o say this, most vhmntly! [SOCRATES] Thn for ths vry gos, Mltus, aout whom our sph now is, spak to m an to ths mn still mor plainly. For I am not al to unrstan whthr you ar saying that I tah thm to liv that thr ar gos of som sort an so I myslf o liv that thr ar gos an am not ompltly athisti an o not o injusti in this way ut that I o not liv in thos in whom th ity livs, ut in othrs, an this is what you harg m with, that I liv in othrs. Or o you assrt that I myslf o not liv in gos at all an that I tah this to othrs? [MELETUS] This is what I say, that you o not liv in gos at all. [SOCRATES] Wonrous Mltus, why o you say this? Do I not vn liv, thn, that sun an moon ar gos, as othr human ings o? [MELETUS] No, y Zus, jugs, sin h lars that th sun is ston an th moon is arth. [SOCRATES] Do you suppos you ar ausing Anaxagoras, 45 My ar Mltus? An o you so muh spis ths mn hr an suppos that thy ar so inxprin in lttrs that thy o not 26a 26 9

know that th ooks of Anaxagoras of Clazomna ar full of ths sphs? Morovr, o th young larn ths things from m, whn it is somtims possil for thm to uy thm in th orhstra for a rahma, 46 if th pri is vry high, an thn to laugh at Sorats if h prtns that thy ar his own, spially sin thy ar so strang? But for Zus, is this how I sm to you? Do I liv thr is no go? [MELETUS] You rtainly o not, y Zus, not in any way at all! [SOCRATES] You ar unlival, Mltus, vn, as you sm to m, to yourslf. This man sms to m, mn of Athns, to vry huristi an unrstrain, an simply to hav rought this initmnt with a rtain huris an unrstraint an youthful rashnss. H is lik somon tsting m y putting togthr a ril: Will Sorats th wis rogniz that I am jsting an ontraiting myslf, or will I iv him an th rst of th listnrs? For h himslf appars to m to ontraiting himslf in th initmnt, as if h wr to say, Sorats os injusti y not living in gos, ut living in gos. An yt this is th onut of on who joks. Now onsir with m, mn, how h appars to m to saying this. An you answr us, Mltus. But you othrs, as I gg of you from th ginning, plas rmmr not to mak isturans if I mak th sphs in my austom way. Is thr any human ing, Mltus, who livs that thr ar human mattrs, ut os not liv in human ings? Lt him kp answring, mn, an lt him not mak isturans again an again. Is thr anyon who os not liv in horss, ut livs in hors-mattrs? Or anyon who os not liv in flut-playrs, ut livs in flut-mattrs? Thr is not, st of mn. If you o not wish to answr, I say it for you an for ths othrs. But at last answr what oms nxt. Is thr anyon who livs that thr ar aimoni mattrs, ut os not liv in aimons? [MELETUS] Thr is not. [SOCRATES] How hlpful you wr y answring rlutantly whn ompll y ths mn! Now thn, you say that I liv in an tah aimonia; so whthr thy ar novl or anint, at any rat I o liv in aimonia aoring to your sph, an you also swor to this in th initmnt. But if I liv in aimonia, thn surly thr is also a grat nssity that I liv in aimons. Is this not so? Of ours it is. I st you own as agring, sin you o not answr. An o w not liv that aimons ar ithr gos or hilrn of gos? Do you affirm this or not? [MELETUS] Quit so. [SOCRATES] Thrfor if I o liv in aimons, as you say, an 26 27a 10

if, on th on han, aimons ar gos of som sort, thn this woul what I say you ar riling an jsting aout, whn you say that I o not liv in gos, an again that I liv in gos, sin in fat I o liv in aimons. On th othr han, if aimons ar rtain astar hilrn of gos, whthr from nymphs or from rtain othrs of whom it is also sai thy ar orn, thn what human ing woul liv that thr ar hilrn of gos, ut not gos? It woul as strang as if somon liv in hilrn of horss or asss muls ut i not liv that thr ar horss an asss. 47 But, Mltus, thr is no way that you i not ring this initmnt ithr to tst us in ths things, or ls aus you wr at a loss aout what tru injusti you might harg m with. Thr is no vi y whih you oul prsua any human ing who is vn slightly intllignt, that it is not th part of th sam man to liv in oth aimonia an ivin things, an furthr that this sam man livs in nithr aimons nor gos nor hros. 48 But in fat, mn of Athns, that I o not o injusti aoring to Mltus initmnt, os not sm to m to rquir muh of a fns sph, ut vn this is suffiint. But what I was saying arlir that I hav inurr muh hatr, an among many mn know wll that this is tru. An this is what will onvit m, if it os onvit m: not Mltus or Anytus, ut th slanr an nvy of th many. This has onvit many othr goo mn too, an I suppos it will also onvit m. An thr is no angr that it will stop with m. Prhaps, thn, somon might say, Thn ar you not asham, Sorats, of having follow th sort of pursuit from whih you now run th risk of ying? I woul rspon to him with a just sph: What you say is ignol, fllow 49 if you suppos that a man who is of vn a littl nfit shoul tak into aount th angr of living or ying, ut not rathr onsir this alon whnvr h ats: whthr his ations ar just or unjust, an th s of a goo man or a a. For aoring to your sph, thos of th migos who mt thir n at Troy woul paltry, spially th son of Thtis. Rathr than nur anything shamful, h spis angr so muh that whn his mothr (a goss) spok to him as h was agr to kill Htor somthing lik this, as I suppos: Son, if you avng th murr of your omra Patrolus an kill Htor, you yourslf will i; for straightway, sh says, aftr Htor, your fat is ray at han h, upon haring this, littl ath an angr, faring muh mor to liv as a a man an not to avng his frins. Straightway, h says, may I i, aftr I inflit a pnalty on th or of injusti, so that I o not stay hr riiulous si th urv ships, a urn on th lan. Surly you o not suppos 27 28a 28 11

that h gav any thought to ath an angr? 50 This is th way it is, mn of Athns, in truth. Whrvr somon stations himslf, holing that it is st, or whrvr h is station y a rulr, thr h must stay an run th risk, as it sms to m, an not tak into aount ath or anything ls ompar to what is shamful. So I woul hav on trril s, mn of Athns, if, whn th rulrs whom you lt to rul m station m in Potiaa an Amphipolis an at Dlium, 51 I stay thn whr thy station m an ran th risk of ying lik anyon ls, ut whn th go station m, as I suppos an assum, orring m to liv philosophizing an xamining myslf an othrs, I ha thn lft my station aus I far ath or any othr mattr whatvr. Trril that woul, an truly thn somon might justly ring m into a law ourt, saying that I o not liv that thr ar gos, sin I woul isoying th ivination, an faring ath, an supposing that I am wis whn I am not. For to far ath, mn, is in fat nothing othr than to sm to wis, ut not to so. For it is to sm to know what on os not know: no on knows whthr ath os not vn happn to th gratst of all goos for th human ing; ut popl far it as though thy knw wll that it is th gratst of vils. An how is this not that rproahal ignoran of supposing that on knows what on os not know? But I, mn, am prhaps istinguish from th many human ings also hr in this, an if I wr to say that I am wisr than anyon in anything, it woul in this: that sin I o not know suffiintly aout th things in Has, 52 so also I suppos that I o not know. But I o know that it is a an shamful to o injusti an to isoy on s ttr, whthr go or human ing. So ompar to th a things whih I know ar a, I will nvr far or fl th things aout whih I o not know whthr thy vn happn to goo. So that not vn if you lt m go now an if you isoy Anytus who sai that ithr I shoul not hav n rought in hr at th ginning, or, sin I was rought in, that it is not possil not to kill 53 m (h sai for you that if I am aquitt, soon your sons, pursuing what Sorats tahs, will all ompltly orrupt if you woul say to m with rgar to this, Sorats, for now w will not oy Anytus; w will lt you go, ut on this onition: that you no longr spn tim in this invstigation or philosophiz; an if you ar aught still oing this, you will i if you woul lt m go, thn, as I sai, on ths onitions, I woul say to you, I, mn of Athns, salut you an lov you, ut I will oy 54 th go rathr than you; an as long as I rath an am al to, I will rtainly not stop philosophizing, an I will xhort you an xplain this to whomvr of you I happn to mt, an I 28 29a 29 12

will spak just th sorts of things I am austom to: Bst of mn, you ar an Athnian, from th ity that is gratst an st rput for wisom an strngth: ar you not asham that you ar for having as muh mony as possil, an rputation, an honor, ut that you nithr ar for nor giv thought to prun, an truth, an how your soul will th st possil? An if on of you isputs it an assrts that h os ar, I will not immiatly lt him go, nor will I go away, ut I will spak to him an xamin an tst him. An if h os not sm to m to possss virtu, ut only says h os, I will rproah him, saying that h rgars th things worth th most as th last important, an th paltrir things as mor important. I will o this to whomvr, youngr or olr, I happn to mt, oth forignr an townsman, ut mor so to th townsmn, inasmuh as you ar losr to m in kin. Know wll, thn, that th go orrs this. An I suppos that until now no gratr goo has arisn for you in th ity than my srvi to th go. For I go aroun an o nothing ut prsua you, oth youngr an olr, not to ar for ois an mony for, nor as vhmntly as, how your soul will th st possil I say: Not from mony os virtu om, ut from virtu oms mony an all of th othr goo things for human ings oth privatly an pulily. If, thn, I orrupt th young y saying ths things, thy may harmful. But if somon assrts that what I say is othr than this, h spaks nonsns. With a viw to ths things, mn of Athns, I woul say, ithr oy Anytus or not, an ithr lt m go or not, sin I woul not o othrwis, not vn if I wr going to i many tims. Do not mak isturans, mn of Athns, ut ai y what I gg of you, not to mak isturans at th things I say, ut to listn. For, as I suppos, you will vn hlp y listning. For in fat I am going to tll you rtain othr things at whih you will prhaps ry out; ut o not o this in any way. For know wll that if you kill m, sin I am th sort of man that I say I am, you will not harm m mor than yourslvs. For Mltus or Anytus woul not harm m h woul not vn al to for I o not suppos it is santion that a ttr man harm y a wors. Prhaps, howvr, h might kill or anish or ishonor 55 m. But this man no out supposs, an othrs too, that ths ar grat vils, whil I o not suppos that ths ar, ut muh rathr oing what this man hr is now oing: attmpting to kill a man unjustly. So I, mn of Athns, am now far from making a fns sph on my own half, as somon might suppos. I o it rathr on your half, so that you o not o somthing wrong onrning th gift of th go to you y voting to onmn m. For if you kill m, you will not asily isovr anothr of my sort, who vn if it is rathr riiulous to say has simply n st upon th ity y 30a 30 13

th go, as though upon a grat an wll-orn hors who is rathr sluggish aus of his grat siz an ns to awakn y som gafly. Just so, in fat, th go sms to m to hav st m upon th ity as somon of this sort: I awakn an prsua an rproah ah on of you, an I o not stop sttling own vrywhr upon you th whol ay. Somon ls of this sort will rtainly not asily aris for you, mn. Wll, if you oy m, you will spar m. But prhaps you may vx, lik th rowsy whn thy ar awakn, an if you oy Anytus an slap m, you woul asily kill m. Thn you woul spn th rst of your livs aslp, unlss th go sns you somon ls in his onrn for you. That I happn to somon of this sort, givn to th ity y th go, you might apprhn from this: it os not sm human, on th on han, that I hav n arlss of all my own things an that for so many yars now I hav nur that th things of my family unar for; an on th othr han, that I always o your usinss, going to ah of you privatly, as a fathr or an olr rothr might o, prsuaing you to ar for virtu. If I was gtting somthing out of this, an if I was riving pay whil I xhort you to ths things, it woul somwhat rasonal. But as it is, vn you yourslvs s that th ausrs, who aus m so shamlssly in vrything ls, in this hav not n al to om so uttrly shamlss as to offr a witnss to assrt that I vr took any pay or ask for it. For, I suppos, I offr a suffiint witnss that I spak th truth: my povrty. Prhaps, thn, it might sm to strang that I o go aroun ounsling ths things an ing a usyoy in privat, ut that in puli I o not ar to go up for your multitu to ounsl th ity. Th aus of this is what you hav har m spak of many tims an in many plas, that somthing ivin an aimoni 56 oms to m, a voi whih, of ours, is also what Mltus wrot aout in th initmnt, making a omy ovr it. This is somthing whih gan for m in hilhoo: a sort of voi oms, an whnvr it oms, it always turns m away from whatvr I am aout to o, ut nvr turns m forwar. This is what opposs my politial ativity, an its opposition sms to m altogthr nol. For know wll, mn of Athns, if I ha long ago attmpt to politially ativ, I woul long ago hav prish, an I woul hav nfit nithr you nor myslf. Now o not vx with m whn I spak th truth. For thr is no human ing who will prsrv his lif if h gnuinly opposs ithr you or any othr multitu an prvnts many unjust an unlawful things from happning in th ity. Rathr, if somon who rally fights for th just is going to prsrv himslf vn for a short tim, it is nssary for him to la a privat rathr than a 31a 31 32a 14

puli lif. I for my part will offr grat proofs of ths things for you not sphs, ut what you honor, s. Do listn to what happn to m, so that you may s that I woul not yil vn to on man against th just aus of a far of ath, vn if I wr to prish y rfusing to yil. I will tll you vulgar things, typial of th law ourts, ut tru. I, mn of Athns, nvr hl any offi in th ity xpt for ing on on th Counil. An it happn that our tri, Antiohis, hl th prytany 57 whn you wish to jug th tn gnrals (th ons who i not pik up th mn from th naval attl) as a group unlawfully, as it sm to all of you in th tim 32 aftrwars. I alon of th prytans oppos your oing anything against th laws thn, an I vot against it. An although th orators wr ray to init m an arrst m, an you wr orring an shouting, I suppos that I shoul run th risk with th law an th just rathr than si with you aus of far of prisonor ath whn you wr ounsling unjust things. 58 Now this was whn th ity was still unr th moray. But again, whn th oligarhy am to, th Thirty summon fiv of us into th Tholos, an thy orr us to arrst Lon th Salaminian an ring him from Salamis to i. 59 Thy orr many othrs to o many things of this sort, wishing that as many aspossil woul impliat in th rsponsiility. Thn, howvr,i show again, not in sph ut in, that I o not vn ar aout ath in any way at all if it is not too ru to say so ut that my whol ar is to ommit no unjust or impious. That 32 govrnmnt, as strong as it was, i not shok m into oing anything unjust. Whn w am out of th Tholos, th othr four wnt to Salamis an arrst Lon, ut I part an wnt hom. An prhaps I woul hav i aus of this, if that govrnmnt ha not n quikly ovrthrown. An you will hav many witnsss of ths things. Do you suppos, thn, that I woul hav surviv so many yars if I ha n pulily ativ an ha at in a mannr worthy of a goo man, oming to th ai of th just things an, as on ought, rgaring this as most important? Far from it, mn of Athns; nor woul any othr human ing. But through all my lif, if I was vr ativ in puli at all, it is 33a apparnt that I was th sort of man (an in privat I was th sam) who nvr on anything to anyon ontrary to th just nithr to anyon ls, nor to any of thos who my slanrrs say ar my stunts. 60 I hav nvr n anyon s tahr; ut if anyon, whthr youngr or olr, sir to har m spaking an oing my own things, I nvr grug it to him. An I o not 33a onvrs only whn I riv mony, an not whn I o not riv iv it: rathr, I offr myslf to oth rih an poor alik for qustioning, an if anyon wishs to har what I say, h may answr m. An whthr any of thm oms an upright man or not, I woul not justly hl rsponsil, sin I hav nvr promis or taught any instrution to any of thm. If somon says that h has vr larn from m or har privatly anything that vry- 15

on ls i not, know wll that h os not spak th truth. But why, thn, o som njoy spning so muh tim with m? You hav har, mn of Athns; I tol you th whol truth. It is aus aus thy njoy haring mn xamin who suppos thy ar wis, ut ar not. For it is not unplasant. I hav n orr to prati this y th go, as I affirm, from ivinations, an from rams, an in vry way that any ivin allotmnt vr orr a human ing to prati anything at all. Ths things, mn of Athns, ar oth tru an asy to tst. Now if I for my part am orrupting som of th young, an hav alray orrupt othrs, an if any of thm, whn thy am olr, ha rogniz that I vr ounsl thm aly in anything whil thy wr young, thn now, no out, thy shoul hav om forwar to aus m an tak thir vngan. If thy thmslvs wr. not willing to, thn som of thir familis fathrs an rothrs an thir othr rlativs shoul now hav rmmr it an takn thir vngan if thir familis ha suffr anything a from m. In any vnt, thr ar prsnt hr many of thm whom I s: first of all Crito hr, of my ag an m, th fathr of Critoulus hr; nxt, Lysanias th Sphttian, th fathr of Ashins hr; furthr, hr is Antiphon th Cphisan, th fathr of Epigns. Morovr, hr ar othrs whos rothrs hav spnt tim in this way: Thozotis son Niostratus, th rothr of Thootus (an Thootus has mt his n, so that h, at last, woul not g him not to), an Dmoous son Paralus, whos rothr was Thags. An hr is Ariston s son Aimantus, whos rothr is Plato hr, an Aantoorus, whos rothr is Apolloorus hr. 61 An I an tll you of many othrs, from among whom Mltus shoul partiularly hav offr somon as a witnss uring his own sph. If h forgot thn, lt him offr on now I will yil an lt him say if h has anyon of this sort at all. But you will isovr that it is wholly opposit to this, mn; that vryon is ray to om to ai m, th orruptr, th on who os vil to thir familis, as Mltus an Anytus say. Now th orrupt ons thmslvs woul prhaps hav a rason to om to my ai. But th unorrupt ons, thir rlativs, ar now olr mn, so what othr rason woul thy hav to om to my ai xpt th orrt an just on, that thy ar onsious that Mltus spaks falsly, whil I am ing truthful? Wll thn, mn. Ths, an prhaps othr suh things, ar aout all I woul hav to say in my fns. Prhaps somon among you may inignant whn h ralls himslf, if, in ontsting a trial vn smallr than this trial, h gg an suppliat th jugs with many tars, ringing forwar his own hilrn an many othrs of his family an frins, so as to piti as muh as possil, whil I will o non of ths things, although in this too I 34a 34a 34 16

am risking, as I might sm, th xtrm angr. Prhaps, thn, somon thinking aout this may rathr stuorn towar m, an, angr y this vry thing, h may st own his vot in angr. If thr is somon among you lik this for I, at last, o not m that thr is, ut if thr is-to m it sms nt for m to say to this man, I, st of mn, surly o hav som family; for this is also just what Homr says: not vn I hav grown up from an oak or a rok/ ut from human ings. 62 So that I o hav a family, an sons too, mn of Athns, thr of thm, on alray a youth, an two still hilrn. Nvrthlss I will ring non of thm forwar hr in orr to g you to vot to aquit m. Why, thn, will I o non of ths things? Not aus I am stuorn, mn of Athns, nor aus I ishonor you. Whthr I am aring with rgar to ath or not is anothr story; ut at any rat as to rputation, min an yours an th whol ity s, to m it os not sm to nol for m to o any of ths things. For I am ol an hav this nam; an whthr it is tru or fals, it is rput at last that Sorats is istinguish from th many human ings in som way. If, thn, thos of you who ar rput to istinguish, whthr in wisom or ourag or any othr virtu at all, will at in this way, it woul shamful. I hav oftn sn som who ar just lik this whn thy ar jug: although thy ar rput to somthing, thy o wonrous s, sin thy suppos that thy will suffr somthing trril if thy i as though thy woul immortal if you i not kill thm. Thy sm to m to attah sham to th ity, so that a forignr might tak it that thos Athnians who ar istinguish in virtu th ons whom thy pik out from among thmslvs for thir offis an othr honors-ar not at all istinguish from womn. For thos of you, mn of Athns, who ar rput to somthing in any way at all, shoul not o ths things; nor, whnvr w o thm, shoul you allow it. Insta, you shoul show that you woul muh rathr vot to onvit th on who rings in ths pitous ramas an maks th ity riiulous than th on who kps quit. Apart from rputation, mn, to m it also os not sm to just to g th jug, nor to aquitt y gging, ut rathr to tah an to prsua. For th jug is not sat to giv away th just things as a gratifiation, ut to jug thm. For h has not sworn to gratify whovr sms favoral to him, ut to giv jugmnt aoring to th laws. Thrfor w shoul not austom you to swar falsly, nor shoul you om austom to it. For nithr of us woul pious. 63 So o not m that 1, mn of Athns, shoul prati suh things for you whih I hol to nithr nol nor just nor pious, an rtainly, y Zus, aov all not whn I am ing prosut 35a 35 17

for impity y Mltus hr. For plainly, if I shoul prsua an for you y gging, aftr you hav sworn an oath, I woul tahing you not to hol that thr ar gos, an in making my fns sph I woul simply ausing myslf of not living in gos. But that is far from ing so. For I liv, mn of Athns, as non of my ausrs os. An I turn it ovr to you an to th go to jug m in whatvr way it is going to st oth for m an for you. [Th jury vots on Sorats innon or guilt, an a majority fins him guilty as harg. Mltus thn maks a sph proposing th ath pnalty, an Sorats must offr a ountrproposal.] 64 Many things ontriut to my not ing inignant, mn of Athns, at what has happn that you vot to onvit m an on of thm is that what has happn was not unxpt y m. But I wonr muh mor at th numr of th vots on ah si. For I at last i not suppos it woul y so littl, ut y muh. But as it is, as is Rly, if only thirty of th vots ha falln iffrntly, I woul hav n aquitt. So as it sms to m, I hav vn now n aquitt as far as Mltus is onrn; an not only hav I n aquitt, ut it is lar to vryon that if Anytus an Lyon ha not om forwar to aus m, h woul hav ha to pay a fin of a thousan rahma, sin h woul not hav gottn a fifth of th vots. 65 At any rat, th man proposs ath as my srt. 66 Wll, thn. What ountrproposal shall I mak to you, mn of Athns? Or is it not lar that it shoul whatvr I am worthy of? What thn? What am I worthy to suffr or to pay aus I i not kp quit uring my lif an i not ar for th things that th many o monymaking an houshol managmnt, an gnralships, an popular oratory, an th othr offis, an onspirais an fations that om to in th ity sin I hl that I myslf was rally too nt to surviv if I wnt into ths things? I i not go into mattrs whr, if I i go, I was going to of no nfit ithr to you or to myslf; insta, I wnt to ah of you privatly to prform th gratst nfation, as I affirm, an I attmpt to prsua ah of you not to ar for any of his own things until h ars for himslf, how h will th st an most prunt possil, nor to ar for th things of th ity until h ars for th ity itslf, an so to ar for th othr things in th sam way. What, thn, am I worthy to suffr, ing suh as this? Somthing goo, mn of Athns, at last if you giv m what I srv aoring to my worth in truth an sis, a goo of a sort that woul fitting for m. What, thn, is fitting for a poor man, a nfator, who ns to hav lisur to xhort you? Thr is nothing mor fitting, mn of Athns, than for suh a man to givn his mals in th Prytanum, muh mor so than if any of you has won a vitory 36a 36 18

at Olympia with a hors or a two or four-hors hariot. 67 For h maks you sm to happy, whil I mak you so; an h is not in n of sustnan, whil I am in n of it. So if I must propos what I am worthy of in aoran with th just, I propos this: to givn my mals in th Prytanum. Prhaps thn, whn I say this, I sm to you to spak in narly th sam way as whn I spok aout lamnt an suppliation quit stuornly. It is not lik that, mn of Athns, ut rathr lik this, I am onvin that I o not o injusti to any human ing voluntarily, ut I am not pursuaing you of this. For w hav onvrs with ah othr a short tim. Sin, as I suppos, if you ha a law lik any othr human ings, not to jug anyon in a mattr of ath in on ay alon, ut ovr many, you woul prsua. 68 But, as it is, it is not asy in a short tim to o away with any grat slanrs. I, ing onvin in that I o not o injusti to anyon, am far from oing injusti to myslf, an from saying against myslf that I myslf am worthy of somthing a, an from proposing this sort of thing as my srt. What woul I far? That I might suffr what Mltus proposs for m, aout whih I say that I o not know whthr it is goo or a? Or insta of this, shoul I hoos somthing from among th things that I know wll ar a an propos that? Shoul it prison? An why shoul I liv in jail, nslav to th authority that is rgularly stalish thr, th Elvn? 69 Or mony, an imprisonmnt until I pay? But for m this is th sam as what I was saying just now, for I hav no mony to pay. Wll, shoul I propos xil, thn? For prhaps you woul grant m this as my srt. I woul rtainly possss y muh lov of soul, 70 mn of Athns, if I wr so unrasonal that I wr not al to rason that you who ar my fllow itizns wr not al to ar my ways of spning tim an my sphs, ut that insta thy hav om quit grav an hatful to you, so that you ar now sking to rlas from thm: will othrs, thn, ar thm asily? Far from it, mn of Athns. Nol in woul lif for m, a human ing of my ag, to go into xil an to liv xhanging on ity for anothr, always ing rivn out! For I know wll that whrvr I go, th young will listn to m whn I spak, just as thy o hr. An if I riv thm away, thy thmslvs will riv m out y prsuaing thir lrs. But if I o not riv thm away, thir fathrs an familis will riv m out aus of ths sam ons. Prhaps, thn, somon might say, By ing silnt an kping quit, Sorats, won t you al to liv in xil for us? It is harst of all to prsua som of you aout this. For if I say that this is to isoy th go an that aus of this it is impossil to kp quit, you will not prsua y m, on th groun that I am ing ironi. 71 An on th othr han, if I say that this vn happns to a vry grat goo for a human ing to mak 36 37a 37 38a 19

sphs vry ay aout virtu an th othr things aout whih you har m onvrsing an xamining oth myslf an othrs an that th unxamin lif is not worth living for a human ing, you will prsua y m still lss whn I say ths things. This is th way it is, as I affirm, mn; ut to prsua you is not asy. An at th sam tim, I am not austom to m myslf worthy of anything a. For if I ha mony, I woul hav propos as muh mony as I oul pay, for that woul not harm m. But as it is, I o not hav any unlss, of ours, you wish m to propos as muh mony as I am al to pay. Prhaps I woul al to pay you, say, a mina of silvr. So I propos that muh. But Plato hr, mn of Athns, an Crito an Critoulus an Apolloorus i m to propos thirty mina 72 an thy will stan as guarantors. So I propos that muh, an thy will trustworthy guarantors of th mony for you. [Voting twn th pnaltis propos y th ausr an th aus, th jury onmns Sorats to ath. H has tim to mak som furthr rmarks for h is takn away to prison to await xution.] For th sak of a littl tim, mn of Athns, you will gt a nam an harg with th rsponsiility, y thos wishing to rvil th ity, for having kill Sorats, a wis man. For thos wishing to rproah you will assrt that I am wis, vn if I am not. At any rat, if you ha wait a short tim, this woul hav om aout for you of its own aor. For you s that my ag is alray far avan in lif an los to ath. I say this not to all of you, ut to thos who vot to onmn m to ath. I also say th following to ths sam ons. Prhaps you suppos, mn of Athns, that I hav n onvit aus I was at a loss for th sort of sphs that woul hav prsua you, if I ha suppos that I shoul o an say anything at all to sap th pnalty. 73 Far from it. Rathr, I hav n onvit aus I was at a loss, not howvr for sphs, ut for aring an shamlssnss an willingnss to say th sorts of things to you that you woul hav n most plas to har: m wailing an lamnting, an oing an saying many othr things unworthy of m, as I affirm suh things as you hav n austom to har from othrs. But nithr i I thn suppos that I shoul o anything unsuital to a fr man aus of th angr, nor o I now rgrt that I ma my fns sph lik this: I Muh prfr to i having ma my fns sph in this way than to liv in that way. For nithr in a ourt as nor in war shoul I or anyon ls vis a way to sap ath y oing anything at all. In attls it oftn oms lar that on might sap ath, at last, y ltting 38 39a 20

go of his arms an turning aroun to suppliat his pursurs. An thr ar many othr vis to sap ath in ah of th angrs, if on ars to o an say anything at all. But I suspt it is not har, mn, to sap ath, ut it is muh harr to sap villainy. For it runs fastr than ath. 74 An now I, sin I am slow an ol, am aught y th slowr, whil my ausrs, sin thy ar lvr an sharp, ar aught y th fastr, y vil. An now I go away, onmn y you to pay th pnalty of ath, whil thy hav n onvit y th truth of wrthnss an injusti. An I ai y my pnalty, an so o thy. Prhaps ths things vn ha to so, an I suppos thr is u masur in thm. Aftr this, I sir to livr orals to you, 0 you who vot to onmn m. For in fat I am now whr human ings partiularly livr orals: whn thy ar aout to i. 75 I affirm, you mn who onmn m to ath, that vngan will om upon you right aftr my ath, an muh harshr, y Zus, than th sort you giv m y killing m. For you hav now on this supposing that you will rlas from giving an aount 76 of your lif, ut it will turn out muh th opposit for you, as I affirm. Thr will mor who will rfut you, whom I hav now n holing ak; you i not priv thm. An thy will harshr, inasmuh as thy ar youngr, an you will mor inignant. For if you suppos that y killing human ings you will prvnt somon from rproahing you for not living orrtly, you o not think noly. For that kin of rlas is not at all possil or nol; rathr, th kin that is oth nolst an asist is not to rstrain othrs, ut to quip onslf to th st possil. So, having ivin ths things for you who vot against m, I am rlas. But with thos who vot for m I woul plas to onvrs or half of this affair whih has happn, whil th offiials ar oupi an I o not yt go to th pla whr, whn I o go, I must i. Plas stay with m, mn, for this muh tim; nothing prvnts our tlling tals 77 to on anothr as long as it is possil. For I am willing to isplay to you, as to frins, what vr this thing mans whih has ourr to m just now. For to m, jugs for y alling you jugs I woul arss you orrtly 78 somthing wonrous has happn. For my ustomary ivination from th aimonion was always vry frqunt in all formr tim, opposing m vn in quit small mattrs if I wr aout to o somthing inorrtly. Now, you yourslvs s what has ourr to m, ths vry things whih somon might suppos to, an ar liv to, xtrm vils. But th sign of th go i not oppos m whn I lft my hous this morning, nor whn I am up hr to th law ourt, nor anywhr in th sph whn I was aout to say anything, although in othr sphs it has oftn 39 40a 21

stopp m in th mil whil I was spaking. But as it is, it has nowhr oppos m ithr in any or sph, onrning this ation. What, thn, o I tak to th aus of this? I will tll you. Proaly what has ourr to m has turn out to goo, an thr is no way that thos of us tak it orrtly who suppos that ing a is a. In my viw, a grat proof of this has happn. For thr is no way that th austom sign woul not hav oppos m unlss I wr aout to o somthing goo. Lt us also think in th following way how grat a hop thr is that it is goo. Now ing a is ithr of two things. For ithr it is lik ing nothing an th a man has no prption of anything, or ls, in aoran with th things that ar sai, it happns to a sort of hang an migration of th soul from th pla hr to anothr pla. An if in fat thr is no prption, ut it is lik a stp in whih th slpr has no ram at all, ath woul a wonrous gain. For I suppos that if somon ha to slt that night in whih h slpt so sounly that h i not vn ram an ha to ompar th othr nights an ays of his own lif with that night, an thn ha to say on onsiration how many ays an nights in his own lif h has liv ttr an mor plasantly than that night, thn I suppos that th Grat King 79 himslf, not to mntion som privat man, woul isovr that thy ar asy to ount in omparison with th othr ays an nights. So if ath is somthing lik this, I at last say it is a gain. For all tim appars in this way in to nothing mor than on night. On th othr han, if ath is lik a journy from hr to anothr pla, an if th things that ar sai ar tru, that in fat all th a ar thr, thn what gratr goo oul thr than this, jugs? For if on who arrivs in Has, rlas from thos hr who laim to jugs, will fin thos who ar jugs in truth th vry ons who ar sai to giv jugmnt thr, Minos an Rhaamanthys, an Aaus, an Triptolmus, 80 an thos of th othr migos who turn out to just in thir own livs woul this journy a paltry on? Or again, to assoiat with Orphus an Musaus an Hsio an Homr, 81 how muh woul any of you giv? For I am willing to i many tims if ths things ar tru, sin spially for myslf spning tim thr woul wonrous: whnvr I happn to mt Palams an Tlmonian Ajax, 82 or anyon ls of th anints who i aus of an unjust jugmnt, I woul ompar my own xprins with thirs. As I suppos, it woul not unplasant. An rtainly th gratst thing is that I woul pass my tim xamining an sarhing out among thos thr just as I o to thos hrwho among thm is wis, an who supposs h is, ut is not. How muh woul on giv, jugs, to xamin him who l th grat 40 41 a 22

army against Troy, or Oyssus, or Sisyphus, 83 or th thousan othrs whom on might mntion, oth mn an womn? To onvrs an to assoiat with thm an to xamin thm thr woul inonival 84 happinss. Crtainly thos thr surly o not kill on this aount. For thos thr ar happir than thos hr not only in othr things ut also in that thy ar immortal hnforth for th rst of tim, at last if th things that ar sai ar in fat tru. But you too, jugs, shoul of goo hop towar ath, an you shoul think this on thing to tru: that thr is nothing a for a goo man, whthr living or a, an that th gos ar not without ar for his trouls. Nor hav my prsnt trouls arisn of thir own aor, ut it is lar to m that it is now ttr, aftr all, for m to a an to hav n rlas from trouls. This is also why th sign i not turn m away anywhr, an I at last am not at all angry at thos who vot to onmn m an at my ausrs. An yt it was not with this thought in min that thy vot to onmn m an aus m: rathr, thy suppos thy woul harm m. For this thy ar worthy of lam. This muh, howvr, I g of thm: whn my sons grow up, punish thm, mn, an pain thm in th vry sam way I pain you, if thy sm to you to ar for mony or anything ls for virtu. An if thy ar rput to somthing whn thy ar nothing, rproah thm just as I i you: tll thm that thy o not ar for th things thy shoul, an that thy suppos thy ar somthing whn thy ar worth nothing. An if you o ths things, w will hav n trat justly y you, oth I myslf an my sons. But now it is tim to go away, I to i an you to liv. Whih of us gos to a ttr thing is unlar to vryon xpt to th go. 85 41 42a Rprint (with rvisions) from Thomas G. Wst, Plato s Apology of Sorats: An Intrprtation, with a Nw Translation. Copyright y Cornll Univrsity, pulish y Cornll Univrsity Prss. 23