Reading Notes by Christopher Lay

Los Angeles Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy & Sociology

Plato	"Apology"	Translator: Benjamin Jowett Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1656/1656-h/1656-h.htm
Truth	Socrates, in his defense against the charges, purports to speak the truth	"from me you shall hear the whole truth"
Old Reputation	Socrates was known (amongst the Athenians) as one who 1) makes (reckless) speculations about the heavens and earth, 2) makes "the worse appear the better cause," and	"telling of one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse appear the better cause."
	3) teaches such things to others	"'Socrates is an evil-doer, and a curious person, who searches into things under the earth and in heaven, and he makes the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the aforesaid doctrines to others.'"
Socrates' Reputation & Aristophanes	Socrates has an inaccurate reputation as a speculator of the heavens that he seeks to disprove Consider the playwright Aristophanes who had a character named Socrates who did such things Aristophanes' Socrates claimed to even walk on air (in the clouds), "talking a deal of nonsense"	"Such is the nature of the accusation: it is just what you have yourselves seen in the comedy of Aristophanes ... , who has introduced a man whom he calls Socrates, going about and saying that he walks in air, and talking a deal of nonsense concerning matters of which I do not pretend to know either much or little–not that I mean to speak disparagingly of any one who is a student of natural philosophy."
Socrates' Defense	"the simple truth is, O Athenians, [is] that I have nothing to do with physical speculations"
Witnesses	And are those who can support Aristophanes' version of Socrates? Nay	"Speak then, you who have heard me, and tell your neighbours whether any of you have ever known me hold forth in few words or in many upon such matters ... . You hear their answer."
Socrates' Reputation as a Sophist	Socrates has an inaccurate reputation as being a Sophist that he also seeks to disprove A sophist is one who charges money to teach people how to make "the worse appear the better cause" "As little foundation is there for the report that I am a teacher, and take money; this accusation has no more truth in it than the other"
Human Instruction	Beyond denying that he is a sophist, Socrates denies that teaching itself doesn't exist Instructing humans, he says, would be an honorable thing–if it was even possible	"Although, if a man were really able to instruct mankind, to receive money for giving instruction would, in my opinion, be an honour to him."
Foals	Socrates presents an analogy between the instruction of humans and the training of horses If humans were like foals, finding an instructor would be easy Thus, humans could be improved and perfected, according to "their own proper virtue and excellence"	"I came across a man who has spent a world of money on the Sophists, Callias, the son of Hipponicus, and knowing that he had sons, I asked him: 'Callias,' I said, 'if your two sons were foals or calves, there would be no difficulty in finding some one to put over them; we should hire a trainer of horses, or a farmer probably, who would improve and perfect them in their own proper virtue and excellence; but as they are human beings, whom are you thinking of placing over them? Is there any one who understands human and political virtue? You must have thought about the matter, for you have sons; is there any one?'"
Callias	Consider who Callias sought to instruct his sons, a sophist An admirable endeavor, if it were possible–but, Socrates asserts, it is an impossible endeavor	"'There is,' he said. 'Who is he?' said I; 'and of what country? and what does he charge?' 'Evenus the Parian,' he replied; 'he is the man, and his charge is five minae.' Happy is Evenus, I said to myself, if he really has this wisdom, and teaches at such a moderate charge. Had I the same, I should have been very proud and conceited; but the truth is that I have no knowledge of the kind."
Whence the Worry Then?	Socrates then considers why he is despised	"some one among you will reply, 'Yes, Socrates, but what is the origin of these accusations which are brought against you; there must have been something strange which you have been doing? All these rumours and this talk about you would never have arisen if you had been like other men: tell us, then, what is the cause of them, for we should be sorry to judge hastily of you.'"
Wise	Socrates states: "this reputation of mine has come of a certain sort of wisdom which I possess" This is not the "superhuman wisdom" claimed to be had by the sophists	"this reputation of mine has come of a certain sort of wisdom which I possess. If you ask me what kind of wisdom, I reply, wisdom such as may perhaps be attained by man, for to that extent I am inclined to believe that I am wise; whereas the persons of whom I was speaking have a superhuman wisdom which I may fail to describe, because I have it not myself; and he who says that I have, speaks falsely, and is taking away my character."
The God of Delphi	Socrates appeals to a god as a witness	"I will refer you to a witness who is worthy of credit; that witness shall be the God of Delphi–he will tell you about my wisdom, if I have any, and of what sort it is."
"None Wiser"	Socrates gives the following account: "Chaerephon, as you know, was very impetuous in all his doings, and he went to Delphi and boldly asked ... the oracle to tell him whether anyone was wiser than I was, and the Pythian prophetess answered, that there was no man wiser"
Socrates' Response	Yet Socrates knows that he has "no wisdom, small or great" Was the god's proclamation a riddle? It could not have been a lie as gods don't do that	"When I heard the answer, I said to myself, What can the god mean? and what is the interpretation of his riddle? for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great. What then can he mean when he says that I am the wisest of men? And yet he is a god, and cannot lie; that would be against his nature."
Experiment, Tests, and Socratic Inquiry	To discern the nature of the god's proclamation, Socrates tested it "I reflected that if I could only find a man wiser than myself, then I might go to the god with a refutation in my hand" "I should say to him, 'Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said that I was the wisest'" Hence we have Socrates' procedure of inquiry, of testing claims	"After long consideration, I thought of a method of trying the question. I reflected that if I could only find a man wiser than myself, then I might go to the god with a refutation in my hand. I should say to him, 'Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said that I was the wisest.'"
Testing a Politician	E.g.: "When I began to talk with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and still wiser by himself; and thereupon I tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but was not really wise; and the consequence was that he hated me, and his enmity was shared by several who were present and heard me"	"Accordingly I went to one who had the reputation of wisdom, and observed him–his name I need not mention; he was a politician whom I selected for examination–and the result was as follows: When I began to talk with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and still wiser by himself; and thereupon I tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but was not really wise; and the consequence was that he hated me, and his enmity was shared by several who were present and heard me."
Wisdom	As a result of examining the politician Socrates concludes: "I am better off than he is,–for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him."	"So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is,–for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him."
		"Then I went to another who had still higher pretensions to wisdom, and my conclusion was exactly the same. Whereupon I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him. Then I went to one man after another, being not unconscious of the enmity which I provoked, and I lamented and feared this: but necessity was laid upon me,–the word of God, I thought, ought to be considered first. And I said to myself, Go I must to all who appear to know, and find out the meaning of the oracle."
This Can't End Well	"the result of my mission was just this: I found that the men most in repute [those engaged in political actives, which surely includes members of his audience] were all but the most foolish; and that others less esteemed were really wiser and better"
Artisans	After having tested poets and dramatists (having come to similar results), Socrates tests the artisans They falsely infer from their skill as artisans that they "also knew all sorts of high matters"	"At last I went to the artisans. I was conscious that I knew nothing at all, as I may say, and I was sure that they knew many fine things; and here I was not mistaken, for they did know many things of which I was ignorant, and in this they certainly were wiser than I was. But I observed that even the good artisans fell into the same error as the poets;–because they were good workmen they thought that they also knew all sorts of high matters, and this defect in them overshadowed their wisdom;"
Wisdom vs. Pretense to Knowledge	Socrates asserts that he'd gladly not have the knowledge they have if it includes having their ignorance too	"and therefore I asked myself on behalf of the oracle, whether I would like to be as I was, neither having their knowledge nor their ignorance, or like them in both; and I made answer to myself and to the oracle that I was better off as I was."
Hence Socrates' Negative Reputation	Such inquiry proved dangerous for Socrates, earning him enemies	"This inquisition has led to my having many enemies of the worst and most dangerous kind, and has given occasion also to many calumnies."
The Worth of Human Wisdom / The Oracle Interpreted	Folks call Socrates wise as they take Socrates to have the wisdom he seeks in others But, "God only is wise," Socrates argues And when the god speaks of Socrates as wise, he only shows that "the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing" When the god speaks of Socrates as wise, he is only using Socrates as an example of human wisdom, and how little knowledge that wisdom includes Here's how Socrates interprets the god's proclamation: "He, O men, is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing"	"And I am called wise, for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find wanting in others: but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing; he is not speaking of Socrates, he is only using my name by way of illustration, as if he said, He, O men, is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing."
Socrates' Days	And it is in this way that Socrates busies himself, leaving him no time for any type of public office–or for earning money	"And so I go about the world, obedient to the god, and search and make enquiry into the wisdom of any one, whether citizen or stranger, who appears to be wise; and if he is not wise, then in vindication of the oracle I show him that he is not wise; and my occupation quite absorbs me, and I have no time to give either to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god."
Teaching?	The sons of the rich nevertheless willingly follow Socrates about They enjoy the way in which Socrates exposes those who claim to have knowledge Those sons enjoy the way in which the examined become angry with Socrates instead of themselves The anger of the examined takes the form of the repeating "the ready-made charges which are used against all philosophers" And Meletus represents the anger of the examined with his charges:	"There is another thing:–young men of the richer classes, who have not much to do, come about me of their own accord; they like to hear the pretenders examined, and they often imitate me, and proceed to examine others; there are plenty of persons, as they quickly discover, who think that they know something, but really know little or nothing; and then those who are examined by them instead of being angry with themselves are angry with me: This confounded Socrates, they say; this villainous misleader of youth!–and then if somebody asks them, Why, what evil does he practise or teach? they do not know, and cannot tell; but in order that they may not appear to be at a loss, they repeat the ready-made charges which are used against all philosophers about teaching things up in the clouds and under the earth, and having no gods, and making the worse appear the better cause; for they do not like to confess that their pretence of knowledge has been detected--which is the truth; and as they are numerous and ambitious and energetic, and are drawn up in battle array and have persuasive tongues, they have filled your ears with their loud and inveterate calumnies."
Contemporary Charges	According to Meletus, Socrates 1) "is a doer of evil" 2) "corrupts the youth" 3) "does not believe in the gods of the state" 4) "has other new divinities of his own"	"I have said enough in my defence against the first class of my accusers; I turn to the second class. They are headed by Meletus, that good man and true lover of his country, as he calls himself. Against these, too, I must try to make a defence:–Let their affidavit be read: it contains something of this kind: It says that Socrates is a doer of evil, who corrupts the youth; and who does not believe in the gods of the state, but has other new divinities of his own."
On the Corruption of the Youth Charge / Socrates Examination of Meletus	To defend himself, Socrates argues that the one who brings the charge of youth-corruption against him is not properly able to understand what counts as corruption or betterment of the youth Socrates: "You think a great deal about the improvement of youth?" Meletus: "Yes, I do" Socrates: "Tell the judges, then, who is their improver" Meletus is drawn to answer, stating that judges, the audience members, the senators, the assembly members, and then even every Athenian citizen–with the exception of Socrates–both improve and elevate the youths of Athens	"Come hither, Meletus, and let me ask a question of you. You think a great deal about the improvement of youth? Yes, I do. Tell the judges, then, who is their improver; for you must know, as you have taken the pains to discover their corrupter, and are citing and accusing me before them. Speak, then, and tell the judges who their improver is.–Observe, Meletus, that you are silent, and have nothing to say. But is not this rather disgraceful, and a very considerable proof of what I was saying, that you have no interest in the matter? Speak up, friend, and tell us who their improver is. The laws. But that, my good sir, is not my meaning. I want to know who the person is, who, in the first place, knows the laws. The judges, Socrates, who are present in court. What, do you mean to say, Meletus, that they are able to instruct and improve youth? Certainly they are. What, all of them, or some only and not others? All of them. By the goddess Here, that is good news! There are plenty of improvers, then. And what do you say of the audience,–do they improve them? Yes, they do. And the senators? Yes, the senators improve them. But perhaps the members of the assembly corrupt them?–or do they too improve them? They improve them. Then every Athenian improves and elevates them; all with the exception of myself; and I alone am their corrupter? Is that what you affirm? That is what I stoutly affirm."
Horses Analogy	To show that Meletus is not properly able to understand what counts as corruption or betterment of the youth, Socrates appeals to analogy Socrates: "How about horses? Does one man do them harm and all the world good?" Socrates: "Is not the exact opposite the truth?" Socrates: "–the trainer of horses, that is to say, does them good, and others who have to do with them rather injure them?" Such is Socrates' argument that Meletus, for one, does not care about the corruption or betterment of the youth	"How about horses? Does one man do them harm and all the world good? Is not the exact opposite the truth? One man is able to do them good, or at least not many;–the trainer of horses, that is to say, does them good, and others who have to do with them rather injure them? Is not that true, Meletus, of horses, or of any other animals? Most assuredly it is; whether you and Anytus say yes or no. Happy indeed would be the condition of youth if they had one corrupter only, and all the rest of the world were their improvers. But you, Meletus, have sufficiently shown that you never had a thought about the young: your carelessness is seen in your not caring about the very things which you bring against me."
To the Point	But that initial argument of Socrates doesn't address the charge itself, but merely the one who brought the charge up
Unintentional Corruption, if Any Corruption at All	Now, Socrates defends himself against the charge itself, by continuing his examination of Meletus Socrates: "Which is better, to live among bad citizens, or among good ones?" Socrates: "Do not the good do their neighbours good, and the bad do them evil?" Meletus: "Certainly" Socrates: "And is there anyone who would rather be injured than benefited by those who live with him?" Meletus: "Certainly not" Socrates: "And when you accuse me of corrupting and deteriorating the youth, do you allege that I corrupt them intentionally or unintentionally?" Meletus: "Intentionally, I say"	"Which is better, to live among bad citizens, or among good ones? Answer, friend, I say; the question is one which may be easily answered. Do not the good do their neighbours good, and the bad do them evil? Certainly. And is there anyone who would rather be injured than benefited by those who live with him? Answer, my good friend, the law requires you to answer–does any one like to be injured? Certainly not. And when you accuse me of corrupting and deteriorating the youth, do you allege that I corrupt them intentionally or unintentionally? Intentionally, I say."
Summarization	1) It is better to live amongst good citizens 2) Good neighbors do good things for their neighbors 3) Everyone would rather be benefited than injured by those they live near But Meletus' accusation is that Socrates intentionally corrupts the youth
	Socrates: "But you have just admitted that the good do their neighbours good, and the evil do them evil" If a neighbor is corrupted by Socrates, that neighbor would likely harm Socrates	"But you have just admitted that the good do their neighbours good, and the evil do them evil. Now, is that a truth which your superior wisdom has recognized thus early in life, and am I, at my age, in such darkness and ignorance as not to know that if a man with whom I have to live is corrupted by me, I am very likely to be harmed by him; and yet I corrupt him, and intentionally, too–so you say, although neither I nor any other human being is ever likely to be convinced by you."
Innocent of Corrupting the Youth	So, Socrates does not corrupt the youth, or he does so unintentionally Either way, Socrates has not run afoul of the law Socrates chastises Meletus: "you ought to have [merely] taken me privately, and warned and admonished me"	"But either I do not corrupt them, or I corrupt them unintentionally; and on either view of the case you lie. If my offence is unintentional, the law has no cognizance of unintentional offences: you ought to have taken me privately, and warned and admonished me; for if I had been better advised, I should have left off doing what I only did unintentionally–no doubt I should; but you would have nothing to say to me and refused to teach me. And now you bring me up in this court, which is a place not of instruction, but of punishment."
On the Gods Charge	Socrates takes the charge regarding theism to be this: He teaches the youth "not to acknowledge the gods which the state acknowledges, but some other new divinities or spiritual agencies in their stead"	"I suppose you mean, as I infer from your indictment, that I teach them not to acknowledge the gods which the state acknowledges, but some other new divinities or spiritual agencies in their stead. These are the lessons by which I corrupt the youth, as you say. Yes, that I say emphatically."
Examination of Meletus:	To clarify, Socrates asks whether Meletus is claiming that Socrates teaches "other men to acknowledge some gods" in which case he does believe in gods, or that Socrates is just an atheist Melitus clarifies his charge: Socrates is an atheist	"Then, by the gods, Meletus, of whom we are speaking, tell me and the court, in somewhat plainer terms, what you mean! for I do not as yet understand whether you affirm that I teach other men to acknowledge some gods, and therefore that I do believe in gods, and am not an entire atheist–this you do not lay to my charge,–but only you say that they are not the same gods which the city recognizes–the charge is that they are different gods. Or, do you mean that I am an atheist simply, and a teacher of atheism? I mean the latter–that you are a complete atheist."
The Heavens	Meletus charges Socrates with atheistic claims about the sun and the moon, that they are merely stone and earth Socrates replies that Meletus has Socrates confused with someone else	"Why do you think so, Meletus? Do you mean that I do not believe in the godhead of the sun or moon, like other men? I assure you, judges, that he does not: for he says that the sun is stone, and the moon earth. Friend Meletus, you think that you are accusing Anaxagoras ... ."
Socrates' Defends Himself	Socrates argues that Meletis contradicts himself with his charge of atheism Socrates does not believe in divine beings, and Socrates does believe in divine beings	"he certainly does appear to me to contradict himself in the indictment as much as if he said that Socrates is guilty of not believing in the gods, and yet of believing in them–but this is not like a person who is in earnest. I should like you, O men of Athens, to join me in examining what I conceive to be his inconsistency; and do you, Meletus, answer."
Horses Analogy	"Did ever man, Meletus, believe in the existence of human things, and not of human beings?" "Did ever any man believe in horsemanship, and not in horses?" Of course not	"Did ever man, Meletus, believe in the existence of human things, and not of human beings?...I wish, men of Athens, that he would answer, and not be always trying to get up an interruption. Did ever any man believe in horsemanship, and not in horses? or in flute-playing, and not in flute-players? No, my friend; I will answer to you and to the court, as you refuse to answer for yourself. There is no man who ever did."
Meletus' Contradiction Laid Out	When asked if a man can "believe in spiritual and divine agencies, and not in spirits or demigods," Meletus admits that "He cannot" But Meletus has charged Socrates with teaching belief in "spiritual agencies" Mustn't this also mean, Socrates argues, that he cannot help but also believing in "spirits or demigods" But spirits or demigods are either gods or sons of gods Meletus' charge amounts to affirming the existence of mules, but not the existence of horses or asses Hence Meletus' contradiction, that Socrates does, and does not, believe in gods	"Can a man believe in spiritual and divine agencies, and not in spirits or demigods? He cannot. How lucky I am to have extracted that answer, by the assistance of the court! But then you swear in the indictment that I teach and believe in divine or spiritual agencies (new or old, no matter for that); at any rate, I believe in spiritual agencies,–so you say and swear in the affidavit; and yet if I believe in divine beings, how can I help believing in spirits or demigods;–must I not? To be sure I must; and therefore I may assume that your silence gives consent. Now what are spirits or demigods? Are they not either gods or the sons of gods? Certainly they are. But this is what I call the facetious riddle invented by you: the demigods or spirits are gods, and you say first that I do not believe in gods, and then again that I do believe in gods; that is, if I believe in demigods. For if the demigods are the illegitimate sons of gods, whether by the nymphs or by any other mothers, of whom they are said to be the sons–what human being will ever believe that there are no gods if they are the sons of gods? You might as well affirm the existence of mules, and deny that of horses and asses."
	Socrates sums up his defense against the atheism charge: "no one who has a particle of understanding will ever be convinced by you that the same men can believe in divine and superhuman things, and yet not believe that there are gods and demigods and heroes"
Socrates' Destruction	Yet Socrates recognizes that he will not likely be able to sway the Athenian rabble He predicts that his destruction will come from "the envy and detraction of the world"	"I have said enough in answer to the charge of Meletus: any elaborate defence is unnecessary, but I know only too well how many are the enmities which I have incurred, and this is what will be my destruction if I am destroyed;–not Meletus, nor yet Anytus, but the envy and detraction of the world, which has been the death of many good men, and will probably be the death of many more; there is no danger of my being the last of them."
Good vs. Death	But if he knows he's to die, shouldn't he be ashamed at not trying to save himself? Socrates replies: "a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong–acting the part of a good man or of a bad"	"Some one will say: And are you not ashamed, Socrates, of a course of life which is likely to bring you to an untimely end? To him I may fairly answer: There you are mistaken: a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong–acting the part of a good man or of a bad."
Honor in the Face of Death	"Had Achilles any thought of death and danger? For wherever a man's place is, whether the place which he has chosen or that in which he has been placed by a commander, there he ought to remain in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or of anything but of disgrace."
Theism and Socrates' Mission	Indeed, if Socrates were to change his course, and stop seeking wisdom, he would expose himself to the charge of atheism insofar as a god has commanded him to act as he has	"if now, when, as I conceive and imagine, God orders me to fulfill the philosopher's mission of searching into myself and other men, I were to desert my post through fear of death, or any other fear; that would indeed be strange, and I might justly be arraigned in court for denying the existence of the gods, if I disobeyed the oracle because I was afraid of death, fancying that I was wise when I was not wise."
On the Fear of Death	To be afraid of death is to claim knowledge about it But about what happens after death, or even during death, we know nothing The fear of death is thus a pretense to wisdom, but not itself wise	"For the fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretence of knowing the unknown; and no one knows whether death, which men in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good. Is not this ignorance of a disgraceful sort, the ignorance which is the conceit that a man knows what he does not know?"
Disobedience	While Socrates admits that he knows very little, he does know that disobedience to the state is evil, but that disobedience to a god is a greater evil There is a possible good to obeying the state, but a certain evil to disobeying a god, and Socrates states that he "will never fear or avoid a possible good rather than a certain evil"	"And in this respect only I believe myself to differ from men in general, and may perhaps claim to be wiser than they are:–that whereas I know but little of the world below, I do not suppose that I know: but I do know that injustice and disobedience to a better, whether God or man, is evil and dishonourable, and I will never fear or avoid a possible good rather than a certain evil."
The Soul 's Primacy	Socrates considers a scenario where he is let off on the condition that he cease his enquiries Socrates says he reports to gods over men, and that he would/will continue to chastise, via examination, his fellow Athenians for improperly valuing money, honor, and reputation over wisdom and truth	"if you say to me, Socrates, this time we will not mind Anytus, and you shall be let off, but upon one condition, that you are not to enquire and speculate in this way any more, and that if you are caught doing so again you shall die;–if this was the condition on which you let me go, I should reply: Men of Athens, I honour and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting any one whom I meet and saying to him after my manner: You, my friend,–a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens,–are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? And if the person with whom I am arguing, says: Yes, but I do care; then I do not leave him or let him go at once; but I proceed to interrogate and examine and cross-examine him, and if I think that he has no virtue in him, but only says that he has, I reproach him with undervaluing the greater, and overvaluing the less. And I shall repeat the same words to every one whom I meet, young and old, citizen and alien, but especially to the citizens, inasmuch as they are my brethren."
Socrates ... "Teaching" ?	Inasmuch, Socrates seeks after the "greatest improvement" of the Athenian soul "I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person"	"For know that this is the command of God; and I believe that no greater good has ever happened in the state than my service to the God. For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person."
On Injury	Socrates warns the Athenians that his death at their hands will injury them, more than him He goes on to state that the evil of unjust killing is greater than the injury of dying an unjust death–if there is any injury in such a death at all	"I would have you know, that if you kill such an one as I am, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me. Nothing will injure me, not Meletus nor yet Anytus–they cannot, for a bad man is not permitted to injure a better than himself. I do not deny that Anytus may, perhaps, kill him, or drive him into exile, or deprive him of civil rights; and he may imagine, and others may imagine, that he is inflicting a great injury upon him: but there I do not agree. For the evil of doing as he is doing–the evil of unjustly taking away the life of another–is greater far."
Gadfly Analogy	"if you kill me you will not easily find a successor to me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life" "I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you"	"if you kill me you will not easily find a successor to me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you. You will not easily find another like me, and therefore I would advise you to spare me."
		"I dare say that you may feel out of temper (like a person who is suddenly awakened from sleep), and you think that you might easily strike me dead as Anytus advises, and then you would sleep on for the remainder of your lives, unless God in his care of you sent you another gadfly."
The Public Option?	But why doesn't Socrates seek to change the Athenian polis via some public life "and advise the state" that way?	"Some one may wonder why I go about in private giving advice and busying myself with the concerns of others, but do not venture to come forward in public and advise the state."
Socrates' Conscience	Socrates hears a veto voice: "This sign, which is a kind of voice, first began to come to me when I was a child; it always forbids but never commands me to do anything which I am going to do" And it is this voice the tells him not to be a politician And for good reason, he speculates, as a political life for him would have meant a short life	"I will tell you why. You have heard me speak at sundry times and in divers places of an oracle or sign which comes to me, and is the divinity which Meletus ridicules in the indictment. This sign, which is a kind of voice, first began to come to me when I was a child; it always forbids but never commands me to do anything which I am going to do. This is what deters me from being a politician. And rightly, as I think. For I am certain, O men of Athens, that if I had engaged in politics, I should have perished long ago, and done no good either to you or to myself."
		"the truth is, that no man who goes to war with you or any other multitude, honestly striving against the many lawless and unrighteous deeds which are done in a state, will save his life; he who will fight for the right, if he would live even for a brief space, must have a private station and not a public one. I can give you convincing evidence of what I say, not words only, but what you value far more–actions."
On the Failure to Secure Fallen Comrades	In prior attempts at a public life, Socrates nearly lost his life Socrates opposed a group trial because he thought it illegal Socrates was then targeted	"The only office of state which I ever held, O men of Athens, was that of senator: the tribe Antiochis, which is my tribe, had the presidency at the trial of the generals who had not taken up the bodies of the slain after the battle of Arginusae; and you proposed to try them in a body, contrary to law, as you all thought afterwards; but at the time I was the only one of the Prytanes who was opposed to the illegality, and I gave my vote against you; and when the orators threatened to impeach and arrest me, and you called and shouted, I made up my mind that I would run the risk, having law and justice with me, rather than take part in your injustice because I feared imprisonment and death. This happened in the days of the democracy. But when the oligarchy of the Thirty was in power, they sent for me and four others into the rotunda, and bade us bring Leon the Salaminian from Salamis, as they wanted to put him to death. This was a specimen of the sort of commands which they were always giving with the view of implicating as many as possible in their crimes; and then I showed, not in word only but in deed, that, if I may be allowed to use such an expression, I cared not a straw for death, and that my great and only care was lest I should do an unrighteous or unholy thing. For the strong arm of that oppressive power did not frighten me into doing wrong; and when we came out of the rotunda the other four went to Salamis and fetched Leon, but I went quietly home. For which I might have lost my life, had not the power of the Thirty shortly afterwards come to an end. And many will witness to my words."
	For this and similar reasons, Socrates has avoided the public life	"Now do you really imagine that I could have survived all these years, if I had led a public life, supposing that like a good man I had always maintained the right and had made justice, as I ought, the first thing?" "No indeed, men of Athens, neither I nor any other man. But I have been always the same in all my actions, public as well as private, and never have I yielded any base compliance to those who are slanderously termed my disciples, or to any other."
Socrates Now Addresses the Teaching Charge	Socrates argues that he speaks to all who approach him–rich and poor, young and old–alike And the results of those conversations, the improvement or corruptions of his interlocutors, cannot be pinned on Socrates, he argues Socrates argues that he does not teach or profess to teach	"Not that I have any regular disciples. But if any one likes to come and hear me while I am pursuing my mission, whether he be young or old, he is not excluded. Nor do I converse only with those who pay; but any one, whether he be rich or poor, may ask and answer me and listen to my words; and whether he turns out to be a bad man or a good one, neither result can be justly imputed to me; for I never taught or professed to teach him anything."
Not Teaching, but Amusement	"And if any one says that he has ever learned or heard anything from me in private which all the world has not heard, let me tell you that he is lying" "But I shall be asked, Why do people delight in continually conversing with you? I have told you already, Athenians, the whole truth about this matter: they like to hear the cross-examination of the pretenders to wisdom; there is amusement in it"
Can I Get a Witness?!?	Socrates calls for witnesses to his having taught them Only crickets and tumbleweeds respond	"If I am or have been corrupting the youth, those of them who are now grown up and have become sensible that I gave them bad advice in the days of their youth should come forward as accusers, and take their revenge; or if they do not like to come themselves, some of their relatives, fathers, brothers, or other kinsmen, should say what evil their families have suffered at my hands. Now is their time."
Pity	Socrates addresses the worry that he is offensive to some insofar as he does not present a case of pity by bringing his child before the court	"Perhaps there may be some one who is offended at me, when he calls to mind how he himself on a similar, or even a less serious occasion, prayed and entreated the judges with many tears, and how he produced his children in court, which was a moving spectacle, together with a host of relations and friends; whereas I, who am probably in danger of my life, will do none of these things."
	Such a show, Socrates argues, would be a demeaning discredit to himself, and a discredit to Athens	"My friend, I am a man, and like other men, a creature of flesh and blood, and not 'of wood or stone,' as Homer says; and I have a family, yes, and sons, O Athenians, three in number, one almost a man, and two others who are still young; and yet I will not bring any of them hither in order to petition you for an acquittal. And why not? Not from any self-assertion or want of respect for you. Whether I am or am not afraid of death is another question, of which I will not now speak. But, having regard to public opinion, I feel that such conduct would be discreditable to myself, and to you, and to the whole state."
Honor in the Face of Death Again	"I have seen men of reputation, when they have been condemned, behaving in the strangest manner: they seemed to fancy that they were going to suffer something dreadful if they died, and that they could be immortal if you only allowed them to live; and I think that such are a dishonour to the state, and that any stranger coming in would have said of them that the most eminent men of Athens, to whom the Athenians themselves give honour and command, are no better than women"	"One who has reached my years, and who has a name for wisdom, ought not to demean himself. Whether this opinion of me be deserved or not, at any rate the world has decided that Socrates is in some way superior to other men. And if those among you who are said to be superior in wisdom and courage, and any other virtue, demean themselves in this way, how shameful is their conduct! I have seen men of reputation, when they have been condemned, behaving in the strangest manner: they seemed to fancy that they were going to suffer something dreadful if they died, and that they could be immortal if you only allowed them to live; and I think that such are a dishonour to the state, and that any stranger coming in would have said of them that the most eminent men of Athens, to whom the Athenians themselves give honour and command, are no better than women."
Judges, Reasons, & Emotions	Socrates argues that judges should be reasoned with, for it is their job to make rational judgments, not to succumb to impious emotional appeals	"And I say that these things ought not to be done by those of us who have a reputation; and if they are done, you ought not to permit them; you ought rather to show that you are far more disposed to condemn the man who gets up a doleful scene and makes the city ridiculous, than him who holds his peace. But, setting aside the question of public opinion, there seems to be something wrong in asking a favour of a judge, and thus procuring an acquittal, instead of informing and convincing him. For his duty is, not to make a present of justice, but to give judgment; and he has sworn that he will judge according to the laws, and not according to his own good pleasure; and we ought not to encourage you, nor should you allow yourselves to be encouraged, in this habit of perjury–there can be no piety in that."
Initial Concluding Statement	"Do not then require me to do what I consider dishonourable and impious and wrong, especially now, when I am being tried for impiety on the indictment of Meletus. For if, O men of Athens, by force of persuasion and entreaty I could overpower your oaths, then I should be teaching you to believe that there are no gods, and in defending should simply convict myself of the charge of not believing in them. But that is not so–far otherwise. For I do believe that there are gods, and in a sense higher than that in which any of my accusers believe in them. And to you and to God I commit my cause, to be determined by you as is best for you and me."
Guilt or Innocence Deliberations	Socrates is found guilty after deliberations It is proposed that he is put to death
Socrates on the Fear of Death	"When I do not know whether death is a good or an evil, why should I propose a penalty which would certainly be an evil?"
Why not Exile?	Socrates will not propose that he is put in exile, as this would mean that he disobeys the god "if I tell you that to do as you say would be a disobedience to the God, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that daily to discourse about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you are still less likely to believe me" (emphasis mine)	"Yes, Socrates, but cannot you hold your tongue, and then you may go into a foreign city, and no one will interfere with you?"
Socrates' Proposed Punishment	a very small amount of money
Punishment Deliberations	Socrates is sentence to death
Socrates Analyzes Consequences	As a result of Socrates being sentenced to death, Athenians will be called evil for having killed (what the detractors will think is) a wise man	"Not much time will be gained, O Athenians, in return for the evil name which you will get from the detractors of the city, who will say that you killed Socrates, a wise man; for they will call me wise, even although I am not wise, when they want to reproach you."
Suicide	Socrates forestalls a reproach Some may think Socrates to blame for his own death since he could have easily talked his way out of the death sentence
An Unworthy Defense	Again, Socrates thinks that the type of discourse that would have been necessary to secure his life would have been "unworthy" of him As he says: "I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live"	"you think that I was convicted because I had no words of the sort which would have procured my acquittal--I mean, if I had thought fit to leave nothing undone or unsaid. Not so; the deficiency which led to my conviction was not of words–certainly not. But I had not the boldness or impudence or inclination to address you as you would have liked me to do, weeping and wailing and lamenting, and saying and doing many things which you have been accustomed to hear from others, and which, as I maintain, are unworthy of me."
On Escaping Death	Socrates (again) points to analogies in battle Sure, if you are close to death on the battlefield you can beg and plead for life, that is easy More difficult is to "avoid unrighteousness"	"Often in battle there can be no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees before his pursuers, he may escape death; and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death, if a man is willing to say and do anything. The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death."
Socrates Prophesizes	Their having put Socrates to death will only make him a martyr of examination In seeking to silence Socrates, to prohibit him from examining them, they have only succeeded in motivating others to examine them Others will follow Socrates' lead and seek to examine the Athenians, and they will do so in more offensive ways	"I prophesy to you who are my murderers, that immediately after my departure punishment far heavier than you have inflicted on me will surely await you. Me you have killed because you wanted to escape the accuser, and not to give an account of your lives. But that will not be as you suppose: far otherwise. For I say that there will be more accusers of you than there are now; accusers whom hitherto I have restrained: and as they are younger they will be more inconsiderate with you, and you will be more offended at them."
Counsel	Socrates counsels the Athenians that they could have achieved their goals of silencing examiners by improving themselves, not by killing an examiner	"If you think that by killing men you can prevent some one from censuring your evil lives, you are mistaken; that is not a way of escape which is either possible or honourable; the easiest and the noblest way is not to be disabling others, but to be improving yourselves."
Socrates' Voice	In conversation with friends, Socrates discloses the absence of his often times vetoing voice The voice did not stop him from coming to court, nor did it stop him from his defense	"Hitherto the divine faculty of which the internal oracle is the source has constantly been in the habit of opposing me even about trifles, if I was going to make a slip or error in any matter; and now as you see there has come upon me that which may be thought, and is generally believed to be, the last and worst evil. But the oracle made no sign of opposition, either when I was leaving my house in the morning, or when I was on my way to the court, or while I was speaking, at anything which I was going to say; and yet I have often been stopped in the middle of a speech, but now in nothing I either said or did touching the matter in hand has the oracle opposed me."
A Good Sign	Socrates interprets his inner voice's silence as a sign of good "the customary sign would surely have opposed me had I been going to evil and not to good"	"It is an intimation that what has happened to me is a good, and that those of us who think that death is an evil are in error. For the customary sign would surely have opposed me had I been going to evil and not to good."
Deadly Dilemma	But how could his death be good? "either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another"	"Let us reflect in another way, and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good; for one of two things–either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another."
Nothingness	If death is like a lack of consciousness, then it is like a perfect sleep–undisturbed "if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams, and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life, and then were to tell us how many days and nights he had passed in the course of his life better and more pleasantly than this one, I think that any man, I will not say a private man, but even the great king will not find many such days or nights, when compared with the others" If death is like that, then it is a gaining of something good	"Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain. For if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams, and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life, and then were to tell us how many days and nights he had passed in the course of his life better and more pleasantly than this one, I think that any man, I will not say a private man, but even the great king will not find many such days or nights, when compared with the others. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is gain; for eternity is then only a single night."
Elsewhere	If death is the transition to a place where "all the dead abide," then death is a good thing There we could receive counsel from the greats, and mingle with out heroes	"But if death is the journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead abide, what good, O my friends and judges, can be greater than this? If indeed when the pilgrim arrives in the world below, he is delivered from the professors of justice in this world, and finds the true judges who are said to give judgment there, Minos and Rhadamanthus and Aeacus and Triptolemus, and other sons of God who were righteous in their own life, that pilgrimage will be worth making."
	"What infinite delight would there be in conversing with them and asking them questions!"	"there will be no small pleasure, as I think, in comparing my own sufferings with theirs. Above all, I shall then be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge; as in this world, so also in the next; and I shall find out who is wise, and who pretends to be wise, and is not. What would not a man give, O judges, to be able to examine the leader of the great Trojan expedition; or Odysseus or Sisyphus, or numberless others, men and women too! What infinite delight would there be in conversing with them and asking them questions!
	Moreover, in such a world they don't put examiners to death Further, you would be immortal in such a world (if the rumors are true)	"In another world they do not put a man to death for asking questions: assuredly not. For besides being happier than we are, they will be immortal, if what is said is true."
Death and the Good	"Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know of a certainty, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods; nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance. But I see clearly that the time had arrived when it was better for me to die and be released from trouble; wherefore the oracle gave no sign"
Socrates Asks a Favor	"When my sons are grown up, I would ask you, O my friends, to punish them; and I would have you trouble them, as I have troubled you, if they seem to care about riches, or anything, more than about virtue; or if they pretend to be something when they are really nothing,–then reprove them, as I have reproved you, for not caring about that for which they ought to care, and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing. And if you do this, both I and my sons will have received justice at your hands"