Xenophon apology pdf

And if to these be added the consciousness of failing powers, the sting of self-reproach, what prospect have I of any further joy in living? It may be, you know," he added, "that God out of his great kindness is intervening in my behalf 14 to suffer me to close my life in the ripeness of age, and by the gentlest of deaths.

For if at this time sentence of death be passed upon me, it is plain I shall be allowed to meet an end which, in the opinion of those who have studied the matter, is not only the easiest in itself, but one which will cause the least trouble to one's friends, 15 while engendering the deepest longing for the departed. For of necessity he will only be thought of with regret and longing who leaves nothing behind unseemly or discomfortable to haunt the imagination of those beside him, but, sound of body, and his soul still capable of friendly repose, fades tranquilly away.

It was in this determination, Hermogenes states, that, when the prosecution accused him of not recognising the gods recognised by the state, but introducing novel divinities and corrupting the young, Socrates stepped forward and said: "In the first place, sirs, I am at a loss to imagine on what ground 20 Meletus asserts that I do not recognise the gods which are recognised by the state, since, as far as sacrificing goes, the rest of the world who have chanced to be present have been in the habit of seeing me so engaged at common festivals, and on the public altars; and so might Meletus himself, if he had wished.

And as to novel divinities, how, pray, am I supposed to introduce them by stating that I have a voice 21 from God which clearly signifies to me what I ought do do? Why, what else do those who make use of the cries of birds or utterances of men draw their conclusions from if not from voices?

Who will deny that the thunder has a voice and is a very mighty omen; 22 and the priestess on her tripod at Pytho, 23 does not she also proclaim by voice the messages from the god? The god, at any rate, has foreknowledge, and premonishes those whom he will of what is about to be. That is a thing which all the world believes and asserts even as I do. Only, when they describe these premonitions under the name of birds and utterances, tokens 24 and soothsayers, I speak of a divinity, and in using that designation I claim to speak at once more exactly and more reverentially than they do who ascribe the power of the gods to birds.

And that I am not lying against the Godhead I have this as a proof: although I have reported to numbers of friends the counsels of heaven, I have never at any time been shown to be a deceiver or deceived. As they listened to these words the judges murmured their dissent, some as disbelieving what was said, and others out of simple envy that Socrates should actually receive from heaven more than they themselves; whereupon Socrates returned to the charge.

Chaerephon 25 once, in the presence of many witnesses, put a question at Delhi concerning me, and Apollo answered that there was no human being more liberal, or more upright, or more temperate than myself. It is said that as he entered the temple the god addressed him with the words: 'I am considering whether to call thee god or man.

I ask you, is there any one 28 else, you know of, less enslaved than myself to the appetites 29 of the body? Can you name another man of more independent spirit than myself, seeing that I accept from no one either gifts or pay? Whom have you any right to believe to be more just 30 than one so suited with what he has, that the things of others excite no craving in him? And that I laboured not in vain, what more conclusive evidence than the fact that so many of my fellow-citizens who make virtue their pursuit, and many strangers also, choose my society in preference to that of others?

And what of this, that during the siege, 35 while others were pitying themselves 36 I lived in no greater straits than when the city was at the height of her prosperity? If in all I have said about myself no one can convict me of lying, is it not obvious that the praise I get from gods and men is justly earned? And yet in spite of all, Meletus, you will have it that by such habits I corrupt the young. We know, I fancy, what such corrupting influences are; and perhaps you will tell us if you know of any one who, under my influence, has been changed from a religious into an irreligious man; who, from being sober-minded, has become prodigal; from being a moderate drinker has become a wine-bibber and a drunkard; from being a lover of healthy honest toil has become effeminate, or under the thrall of some other wicked pleasure.

And is it not the case that, in your choice of generals, you set your fathers and brothers, and, bless me!

Much more than this, it stands to reason, was urged, whether by himself or by the friends who advocated his cause. It suffices me to have shown on the one hand that Socrates, beyond everything, desired not to display impiety to heaven, 41 and injustice to men; and on the other, that escape from death was not a thing, in his opinion, to be clamoured for importunately—on the contrary, he believed that the time was already come for him to die.

And now, if no one can convict me of misstatement in all that I have said of myself, do I not unquestionably merit praise from both gods and men? And yet surely we know what kinds of corruption affect the young; so you tell us whether you know of any one who under my influence has fallen from piety into impiety, or from sober into wanton conduct, or from moderation in living into extravagance, or from temperate drinking into sottishness, or from strenuousness into effeminacy, or has been overcome of any other base pleasure.

But in a question of health, men take the advice of physicians rather than that of their parents; and moreover, in the meetings of the legislative assembly all the people of Athens , without question, follow the advice of those whose words are wisest rather than that of their own relatives.

Do you not also elect for your generals, in preference to fathers and brothers,—yes, by Heaven! But I have not made it a point to report the whole trial; rather I am satisfied to make it clear that while Socrates ' whole concern was to keep free from any act of impiety toward the gods or any appearance of wrong-doing toward man, he did not think it meet to beseech the jury to let him escape death; instead, he believed that the time had now come for him to die.

For, first of all, when he was bidden to name his penalty, he refused personally and forbade his friends to name one, but said that naming the penalty in itself implied an acknowledgment of guilt. Then, when his companions wished to remove him clandestinely from prison, he would not accompany them, but seemed actually to banter them, asking them whether they knew of any spot outside of Attica that was inaccessible to death.

For it has not been shown that I have sacrificed to new deities in the stead of Zeus and Hera and the gods of their company, or that I have invoked ill oaths or mentioned other gods.

Now of all the acts for which the laws have prescribed the death-penalty—temple robbery, burglary, enslavement, treason to the state—not even my adversaries themselves charge me with having committed any of these.

And so it seems astonishing to me how you could ever have been convinced that I had committed an act meriting death. And I get comfort from the case of Palamedes 5 also, who died in circumstances similar to mine; for even yet he affords us far more noble themes for song than does Odysseus, the man who unjustly put him to death.

And I know that time to come as well as time past will attest that I, too, far from ever doing any man a wrong or rendering him more wicked, have rather profited those who conversed with me by teaching them, without reward, every good thing that lay in my power.

Have you not known all along that from the moment of my birth nature had condemned me to death? Verily, if I am being destroyed before my time while blessings are still pouring in upon me, clearly that should bring grief to me and to my well-wishers; but if I am ending my life when only troubles are in view, my own opinion is that you ought all to feel cheered, in the assurance that my state is happy.

At one time I had a brief association with the son of Anytus, and I thought him not lacking in firmness of spirit; and so I predict that he will not continue in the servile occupation that his father has provided for him; but through want of a worthy adviser he will fall into some disgraceful propensity and will surely go far in the career of vice. So Anytus, even though dead, still enjoys an evil repute for his son's mischievous education and for his own hard-heartedness.

Now to me he seems to have met a fate that the gods love; for he escaped the hardest part of life and met the easiest sort of death. And if among those who make virtue their aim any one has ever been brought into contact with a person more helpful than Socrates , I count that man worthy to be called most blessed.

Xenophon in Seven Volumes, 4. The law must be obeyed and a defense must be made. The religious charge is added to the first as an auxiliary one, explaining in what way Socrates is corrupting the youth. Plato, like Xenophon, was concerned in his Apology wish providing answers to the post-trial question that had arisen. Each author has chosen one or more questions to address. Each author, however, makes a point of clearly showing that it was not Socrates who was responsible for his own death.

Under the Athenian judicial system, the party bringing a charge must specify in the indictment what penalty he thinks appropriate. The accused, if convicted, proposes a counter-penalty. The jury then chooses between these two penalties. In the case of Socrates, the penalty specified in the indictment was death by hemlock. First, when asked to name a lesser penalty, neither he himself named one nor did he allow his friends, but he even said that in naming a lesser penalty he was admitting to wrongdoing.

He did not listen to his friends wishing to steal him away, but he seemed to ridicule them, asking if they know of any place outside Attica not accessible to death. Sage CLAS effect, Socrates would have forced his accusers, perhaps against their own intentions, to become responsible for his execution. He first proposes that, as a punishment, he be given free meals in the prytaneum, pointing out that he does actually need the food P.

What, then, am I, being such a man, worthy to suffer? Something good, men of Athens, if it is necessary to be honored truly according to my worth. And, more than that, whatever is fitting for me is such a good thing.

For a poor man, a do-gooder, being in need, what is necessary for him to lead a life of leisure for the sake of advising you? There is not anything, men of Athens, that is more fitting than for such a man to be fed at the prytaneium, much more fitting than if someone of you won an Olympic victory on a single horse or a two-horse chariot or a yoked chariot with four horses.

For that man makes you seem to be happy, but I actually make you happy. Also, that man has no need of food, whereas I do. Socrates then reverses himself and offers to pay a fine of one mna, about one-fifth of his property according to Xenophon X. By first having Socrates propose such an outrageous and arrogant counter-penalty, then offer to pay a small fine, Plato is again 30 Ibid. So Socrates has to make the announcement himself. Once, when Chaerephon was inquiring at Delphi about me with many people present, Apollo replied that no man was more free, more just or more sensible than me.

He even goes so far as to explain that he is also wise X. Socrates tells the jury that he questioned the meaning of the oracle.