,apology  by ,plato  ,translated by     
,benjamin ,jowett   ,contents           
,,introduction  ,,apology               
,,introduction4   ,in what relation the 
8,apology0 of ,plato stands to the real 
defence of ,socrates1 there are no means
 of determining4 ,it certainly agrees in
 tone and character with the description
 of ,xenophon1 who says in the          
8,memorabilia0 that ,socrates might have
 been acquitted 8if in any moderate     
degree he would have conciliated the    
favour of the dicasts20 and who informs 
us in another passage1 on the testimony 
of ,hermogenes1 the friend of ,socrates1
 that he had no wish to live2 and that  
the divine sign refused to allow him to 
prepare a defence1 and also that        
,socrates himself declared this to be   
unnecessary1 on the ground that all his 
life long he had been preparing against 
that hour4 ,for the speech breathes     
throughout a spirit of defiance1 8ut non
 supplex aut reus sed magister aut      
dominus videretur esse judicum0 7,cic4  

8de ,orat40 i4 #ed72 and the loose and  
desultory style is an imitation of the  
8accustomed manner0 in which ,socrates  
spoke in 8the agora and among the tables
 of the money-changers40 ,the allusion  
in the 8,crito0 7#de ,b7 may1 perhaps1  
be adduced as a further evidence of the 
literal accuracy of some parts 7#cg ,c1 
,d74 ,but in the main it must be        
regarded as the ideal of ,socrates1     
according to ,plato's conception of him1
 appearing in the greatest and most     
public scene of his life1 and in the    
height of his triumph1 when he is       
weakest1 and yet his mastery over       
mankind is greatest1 and his habitual   
irony acquires a new meaning and a sort 
of tragic pathos in the face of death4  
,the facts of his life are summed up1   
and the features of his character are   
brought out as if by accident in the    
course of the defence4 ,the             
conversational manner1 the seeming want 
of arrangement1 the ironical simplicity1
 are found to result in a perfect work  

of art1 which is the portrait of        
,socrates4  ,yet some of the topics may 
have been actually used by ,socrates2   
and the recollection of his very words  
may have rung in the ears of his        
disciple4 ,the 8,apology0 of ,plato may 
be compared generally with those        
speeches of ,thucydides in which he has 
embodied his conception of the lofty    
character and policy of the great       
,pericles1 and which at the same time   
furnish a commentary on the situation of
 affairs from the point of view of the  
historian4 ,so in the 8,apology0 there  
is an ideal rather than a literal truth2
 much is said which was not said1 and is
 only ,plato's view of the situation4   
,plato was not1 like ,xenophon1 a       
chronicler of facts2 he does not appear 
in any of his writings to have aimed at 
literal accuracy4 ,he is not therefore  
to be supplemented from the ,memorabilia
 and ,symposium of ,xenophon1 who       
belongs to an entirely different class  
of writers4 ,the ,apology of ,plato is  

not the report of what ,socrates said1  
but an elaborate composition1 quite as  
much so in fact as one of the           
,dialogues4 ,and we may perhaps even    
indulge in the fancy that the actual    
defence of ,socrates was as much greater
 than the ,platonic defence as the      
master was greater than the disciple4   
,but in any case1 some of the words used
 by him must have been remembered1 and  
some of the facts recorded must have    
actually occurred4 ,it is significant   
that ,plato is said to have been present
 at the defence 7,apol471 as he is also 
said to have been absent at the last    
scene in the 8,phdo04 ,is it fanciful to
 suppose that he meant to give the stamp
 of authenticity to the one and not to  
the other8--especially when we consider 
that these two passages are the only    
ones in which ,plato makes mention of   
himself4 ,the circumstance that ,plato  
was to be one of his sureties for the   
payment of the fine which he proposed   
has the appearance of truth4 ,more      

suspicious is the statement that        
,socrates received the first impulse to 
his favourite calling of cross-examining
 the world from the ,oracle of ,delphi2 
for he must already have been famous    
before ,chaerephon went to consult the  
,oracle 7,riddell71 and the story is of 
a kind which is very likely to have been
 invented4 ,on the whole we arrive at   
the conclusion that the 8,apology0 is   
true to the character of ,socrates1 but 
we cannot show that any single sentence 
in it was actually spoken by him4 ,it   
breathes the spirit of ,socrates1 but   
has been cast anew in the mould of      
,plato4  ,there is not much in the other
 ,dialogues which can be compared with  
the 8,apology04 ,the same recollection  
of his master may have been present to  
the mind of ,plato when depicting the   
sufferings of the ,just in the          
8,republic04 ,the 8,crito0 may also be  
regarded as a sort of appendage to the  
8,apology01 in which ,socrates1 who has 
defied the judges1 is nevertheless      

represented as scrupulously obedient to 
the laws4 ,the idealization of the      
sufferer is carried still further in the
 8,georgias01 in which the thesis is    
maintained1 that 8to suffer is better   
than to do evil20 and the art of        
rhetoric is described as only useful for
 the purpose of self-accusation4 ,the   
parallelisms which occur in the         
so-called 8,apology0 of ,xenophon are   
not worth noticing1 because the writing 
in which they are contained is          
manifestly spurious4 ,the statements of 
the 8,memorabilia0 respecting the trial 
and death of ,socrates agree generally  
with ,plato2 but they have lost the     
flavour of ,socratic irony in the       
narrative of ,xenophon4  ,the 8,apology0
 or ,platonic defence of ,socrates is   
divided into three parts3 #ast4 ,the    
defence properly so called2 #bnd4 ,the  
shorter address in mitigation of the    
penalty2 #crd4 ,the last words of       
prophetic rebuke and exhortation4  ,the 
first part commences with an apology for

 his colloquial style2 he is1 as he has 
always been1 the enemy of rhetoric1 and 
knows of no rhetoric but truth2 he will 
not falsify his character by making a   
speech4 ,then he proceeds to divide his 
accusers into two classes2 first1 there 
is the nameless accuser--public opinion4
 ,all the world from their earliest     
years had heard that he was a corrupter 
of youth1 and had seen him caricatured  
in the 8,clouds0 of ,aristophanes4      
,secondly1 there are the professed      
accusers1 who are but the mouth-piece of
 the others4 ,the accusations of both   
might be summed up in a formula4 ,the   
first say1 8,socrates is an evil-doer   
and a curious person1 searching into    
things under the earth and above the    
heaven2 and making the worse appear the 
better cause1 and teaching all this to  
others40 ,the second1 8,socrates is an  
evil-doer and corrupter of the youth1   
who does not receive the gods whom the  
state receives1 but introduces other new
 divinities40 ,these last words appear  

to have been the actual indictment      
7compare ,xen4 ,mem472 and the previous 
formula1 which is a summary of public   
opinion1 assumes the same legal style4  
,the answer begins by clearing up a     
confusion4 ,in the representations of   
the ,comic poets1 and in the opinion of 
the multitude1 he had been identified   
with the teachers of physical science   
and with the ,sophists4 ,but this was an
 error4 ,for both of them he professes a
 respect in the open court1 which       
contrasts with his manner of speaking   
about them in other places4 7,compare   
for ,anaxagoras1 ,phdo1 ,laws2 for the  
,sophists1 ,meno1 ,republic1 ,tim41     
,theaet41 ,soph41 etc47 ,but at the same
 time he shows that he is not one of    
them4 ,of natural philosophy he knows   
nothing2 not that he despises such      
pursuits1 but the fact is that he is    
ignorant of them1 and never says a word 
about them4 ,nor is he paid for giving  
instruction--that is another mistaken   
notion3--he has nothing to teach4 ,but  

he commends ,evenus for teaching virtue 
at such a 8moderate0 rate as five min4  
,something of the 8accustomed irony10   
which may perhaps be expected to sleep  
in the ear of the multitude1 is lurking 
here4  ,he then goes on to explain the  
reason why he is in such an evil name4  
,that had arisen out of a peculiar      
mission which he had taken upon himself4
 ,the enthusiastic ,chaerephon 7probably
 in anticipation of the answer which he 
received7 had gone to ,delphi and asked 
the oracle if there was any man wiser   
than ,socrates2 and the answer was1 that
 there was no man wiser4 ,what could be 
the meaning of this--that he who knew   
nothing1 and knew that he knew nothing1 
should be declared by the oracle to be  
the wisest of men8 ,reflecting upon the 
answer1 he determined to refute it by   
finding 8a wiser20 and first he went to 
the politicians1 and then to the poets1 
and then to the craftsmen1 but always   
with the same result--he found that they
 knew nothing1 or hardly anything more  

than himself2 and that the little       
advantage which in some cases they      
possessed was more than counter-balanced
 by their conceit of knowledge4 ,he knew
 nothing1 and knew that he knew nothing3
 they knew little or nothing1 and       
imagined that they knew all things4     
,thus he had passed his life as a sort  
of missionary in detecting the pretended
 wisdom of mankind2 and this occupation 
had quite absorbed him and taken him    
away both from public and private       
affairs4 ,young men of the richer sort  
had made a pastime of the same pursuit1 
8which was not unamusing40 ,and hence   
bitter enmities had arisen2 the         
professors of knowledge had revenged    
themselves by calling him a villainous  
corrupter of youth1 and by repeating the
 commonplaces about atheism and         
materialism and sophistry1 which are the
 stock-accusations against all          
philosophers when there is nothing else 
to be said of them4  ,the second        
accusation he meets by interrogating    

,meletus1 who is present and can be     
interrogated4 8,if he is the corrupter1 
who is the improver of the citizens80   
7,compare ,meno47 8,all men everywhere40
 ,but how absurd1 how contrary to       
analogy is this6 ,how inconceivable too1
 that he should make the citizens worse 
when he has to live with them4 ,this    
surely cannot be intentional2 and if    
unintentional1 he ought to have been    
instructed by ,meletus1 and not accused 
in the court4  ,but there is another    
part of the indictment which says that  
he teaches men not to receive the gods  
whom the city receives1 and has other   
new gods4 8,is that the way in which he 
is supposed to corrupt the youth80      
8,yes1 it is40 8,has he only new gods1  
or none at all80 8,none at all40 8,what1
 not even the sun and moon80 8,no2 why1 
he says that the sun is a stone1 and the
 moon earth40 ,that1 replies ,socrates1 
is the old confusion about ,anaxagoras2 
the ,athenian people are not so ignorant
 as to attribute to the influence of    

,socrates notions which have found their
 way into the drama1 and may be learned 
at the theatre4 ,socrates undertakes to 
show that ,meletus 7rather              
unjustifiably7 has been compounding a   
riddle in this part of the indictment3  
8,there are no gods1 but ,socrates      
believes in the existence of the sons of
 gods1 which is absurd40  ,leaving      
,meletus1 who has had enough words spent
 upon him1 he returns to the original   
accusation4 ,the question may be asked1 
,why will he persist in following a     
profession which leads him to death8    
,why8--because he must remain at his    
post where the god has placed him1 as he
 remained at ,potidaea1 and ,amphipolis1
 and ,delium1 where the generals placed 
him4 ,besides1 he is not so overwise as 
to imagine that he knows whether death  
is a good or an evil2 and he is certain 
that desertion of his duty is an evil4  
,anytus is quite right in saying that   
they should never have indicted him if  
they meant to let him go4 ,for he will  

certainly obey ,god rather than man2 and
 will continue to preach to all men of  
all ages the necessity of virtue and    
improvement2 and if they refuse to      
listen to him he will still persevere   
and reprove them4 ,this is his way of   
corrupting the youth1 which he will not 
cease to follow in obedience to the god1
 even if a thousand deaths await him4   
,he is desirous that they should let him
 live--not for his own sake1 but for    
theirs2 because he is their heaven-sent 
friend 7and they will never have such   
another71 or1 as he may be ludicrously  
described1 he is the gadfly who stirs   
the generous steed into motion4 ,why    
then has he never taken part in public  
affairs8 ,because the familiar divine   
voice has hindered him2 if he had been a
 public man1 and had fought for the     
right1 as he would certainly have fought
 against the many1 he would not have    
lived1 and could therefore have done no 
good4 ,twice in public matters he has   
risked his life for the sake of         

justice--once at the trial of the       
generals2 and again in resistance to the
 tyrannical commands of the ,thirty4    
,but1 though not a public man1 he has   
passed his days in instructing the      
citizens without fee or reward--this was
 his mission4 ,whether his disciples    
have turned out well or ill1 he cannot  
justly be charged with the result1 for  
he never promised to teach them         
anything4 ,they might come if they      
liked1 and they might stay away if they 
liked3 and they did come1 because they  
found an amusement in hearing the       
pretenders to wisdom detected4 ,if they 
have been corrupted1 their elder        
relatives 7if not themselves7 might     
surely come into court and witness      
against him1 and there is an opportunity
 still for them to appear4 ,but their   
fathers and brothers all appear in court
 7including 8this0 ,plato71 to witness  
on his behalf2 and if their relatives   
are corrupted1 at least they are        
uncorrupted2 8and they are my witnesses4

 ,for they know that ,i am speaking the 
truth1 and that ,meletus is lying40     
,this is about all that he has to say4  
,he will not entreat the judges to spare
 his life2 neither will he present a    
spectacle of weeping children1 although 
he1 too1 is not made of 8rock or oak40  
,some of the judges themselves may have 
complied with this practice on similar  
occasions1 and he trusts that they will 
not be angry with him for not following 
their example4 ,but he feels that such  
conduct brings discredit on the name of 
,athens3 he feels too1 that the judge   
has sworn not to give away justice2 and 
he cannot be guilty of the impiety of   
asking the judge to break his oath1 when
 he is himself being tried for impiety4 
,as he expected1 and probably intended1 
he is convicted4 ,and now the tone of   
the speech1 instead of being more       
conciliatory1 becomes more lofty and    
commanding4 ,anytus proposes death as   
the penalty3 and what                   
counter-proposition shall he make8 ,he1 

the benefactor of the ,athenian people1 
whose whole life has been spent in doing
 them good1 should at least have the    
,olympic victor's reward of maintenance 
in the ,prytaneum4 ,or why should he    
propose any counter-penalty when he does
 not know whether death1 which ,anytus  
proposes1 is a good or an evil8 ,and he 
is certain that imprisonment is an evil1
 exile is an evil4 ,loss of money might 
be an evil1 but then he has none to     
give2 perhaps he can make up a mina4    
,let that be the penalty1 or1 if his    
friends wish1 thirty min2 for which they
 will be excellent securities4          
,he is condemned to death4   ,he is an  
old man already1 and the ,athenians will
 gain nothing but disgrace by depriving 
him of a few years of life4 ,perhaps he 
could have escaped1 if he had chosen to 
throw down his arms and entreat for his 
life4 ,but he does not at all repent of 
the manner of his defence2 he would     
rather die in his own fashion than live 
in theirs4 ,for the penalty of          

unrighteousness is swifter than death2  
that penalty has already overtaken his  
accusers as death will soon overtake    
him4  ,and now1 as one who is about to  
die1 he will prophesy to them4 ,they    
have put him to death in order to escape
 the necessity of giving an account of  
their lives4 ,but his death 8will be the
 seed0 of many disciples who will       
convince them of their evil ways1 and   
will come forth to reprove them in      
harsher terms1 because they are younger 
and more inconsiderate4  ,he would like 
to say a few words1 while there is time1
 to those who would have acquitted him4 
,he wishes them to know that the divine 
sign never interrupted him in the course
 of his defence2 the reason of which1 as
 he conjectures1 is that the death to   
which he is going is a good and not an  
evil4 ,for either death is a long sleep1
 the best of sleeps1 or a journey to    
another world in which the souls of the 
dead are gathered together1 and in which
 there may be a hope of seeing the      

heroes of old--in which1 too1 there are 
just judges2 and as all are immortal1   
there can be no fear of any one         
suffering death for his opinions4       
,nothing evil can happen to the good man
 either in life or death1 and his own   
death has been permitted by the gods1   
because it was better for him to depart2
 and therefore he forgives his judges   
because they have done him no harm1     
although they never meant to do him any 
good4  ,he has a last request to make to
 them--that they will trouble his sons  
as he has troubled them1 if they appear 
to prefer riches to virtue1 or to think 
themselves something when they are      
nothing4   8,few persons will be found  
to wish that ,socrates should have      
defended himself otherwise10--if1 as we 
must add1 his defence was that with     
which ,plato has provided him4 ,but     
leaving this question1 which does not   
admit of a precise solution1 we may go  
on to ask what was the impression which 
,plato in the 8,apology0 intended to    

give of the character and conduct of his
 master in the last great scene8 ,did he
 intend to represent him 7#a7 as        
employing sophistries2 7#b7 as          
designedly irritating the judges8 ,or   
are these sophistries to be regarded as 
belonging to the age in which he lived  
and to his personal character1 and this 
apparent haughtiness as flowing from the
 natural elevation of his position8     
,for example1 when he says that it is   
absurd to suppose that one man is the   
corrupter and all the rest of the world 
the improvers of the youth2 or1 when he 
argues that he never could have         
corrupted the men with whom he had to   
live2 or1 when he proves his belief in  
the gods because he believes in the sons
 of gods1 is he serious or jesting8 ,it 
may be observed that these sophisms all 
occur in his cross-examination of       
,meletus1 who is easily foiled and      
mastered in the hands of the great      
dialectician4 ,perhaps he regarded these
 answers as good enough for his accuser1

 of whom he makes very light4 ,also     
there is a touch of irony in them1 which
 takes them out of the category of      
sophistry4 7,compare ,euthyph47  ,that  
the manner in which he defends himself  
about the lives of his disciples is not 
satisfactory1 can hardly be denied4     
,fresh in the memory of the ,athenians1 
and detestable as they deserved to be to
 the newly restored democracy1 were the 
names of ,alcibiades1 ,critias1         
,charmides4 ,it is obviously not a      
sufficient answer that ,socrates had    
never professed to teach them anything1 
and is therefore not justly chargeable  
with their crimes4 ,yet the defence1    
when taken out of this ironical form1 is
 doubtless sound3 that his teaching had 
nothing to do with their evil lives4    
,here1 then1 the sophistry is rather in 
form than in substance1 though we might 
desire that to such a serious charge    
,socrates had given a more serious      
answer4  ,truly characteristic of       
,socrates is another point in his       

answer1 which may also be regarded as   
sophistical4 ,he says that 8if he has   
corrupted the youth1 he must have       
corrupted them involuntarily40 ,but if1 
as ,socrates argues1 all evil is        
involuntary1 then all criminals ought to
 be admonished and not punished4 ,in    
these words the ,socratic doctrine of   
the involuntariness of evil is clearly  
intended to be conveyed4 ,here again1 as
 in the former instance1 the defence of 
,socrates is untrue practically1 but may
 be true in some ideal or transcendental
 sense4 ,the commonplace reply1 that if 
he had been guilty of corrupting the    
youth their relations would surely have 
witnessed against him1 with which he    
concludes this part of his defence1 is  
more satisfactory4  ,again1 when        
,socrates argues that he must believe in
 the gods because he believes in the    
sons of gods1 we must remember that this
 is a refutation not of the original    
indictment1 which is consistent         
enough--8,socrates does not receive the 

gods whom the city receives1 and has    
other new divinities0--but of the       
interpretation put upon the words by    
,meletus1 who has affirmed that he is a 
downright atheist4 ,to this ,socrates   
fairly answers1 in accordance with the  
ideas of the time1 that a downright     
atheist cannot believe in the sons of   
gods or in divine things4 ,the notion   
that demons or lesser divinities are the
 sons of gods is not to be regarded as  
ironical or sceptical4 ,he is arguing   
8ad hominem0 according to the notions of
 mythology current in his age4 ,yet he  
abstains from saying that he believed in
 the gods whom the ,state approved4 ,he 
does not defend himself1 as ,xenophon   
has defended him1 by appealing to his   
practice of religion4 ,probably he      
neither wholly believed1 nor            
disbelieved1 in the existence of the    
popular gods2 he had no means of knowing
 about them4 ,according to ,plato       
7compare ,phdo2 ,symp471 as well as     
,xenophon 7,memor471 he was punctual in 

the performance of the least religious  
duties2 and he must have believed in his
 own oracular sign1 of which he seemed  
to have an internal witness4 ,but the   
existence of ,apollo or ,zeus1 or the   
other gods whom the ,state approves1    
would have appeared to him both         
uncertain and unimportant in comparison 
of the duty of self-examination1 and of 
those principles of truth and right     
which he deemed to be the foundation of 
religion4 7,compare ,phaedr42 ,euthyph42
 ,republic47  ,the second question1     
whether ,plato meant to represent       
,socrates as braving or irritating his  
judges1 must also be answered in the    
negative4 ,his irony1 his superiority1  
his audacity1 8regarding not the person 
of man10 necessarily flow out of the    
loftiness of his situation4 ,he is not  
acting a part upon a great occasion1 but
 he is what he has been all his life    
long1 8a king of men40 ,he would rather 
not appear insolent1 if he could avoid  
it 7ouch os authadizomenos touto lego74 

,neither is he desirous of hastening his
 own end1 for life and death are simply 
indifferent to him4 ,but such a defence 
as would be acceptable to his judges and
 might procure an acquittal1 it is not  
in his nature to make4 ,he will not say 
or do anything that might pervert the   
course of justice2 he cannot have his   
tongue bound even 8in the throat of     
death40 ,with his accusers he will only 
fence and play1 as he had fenced with   
other 8improvers of youth10 answering   
the ,sophist according to his sophistry 
all his life long4 ,he is serious when  
he is speaking of his own mission1 which
 seems to distinguish him from all other
 reformers of mankind1 and originates in
 an accident4 ,the dedication of himself
 to the improvement of his              
fellow-citizens is not so remarkable as 
the ironical spirit in which he goes    
about doing good only in vindication of 
the credit of the oracle1 and in the    
vain hope of finding a wiser man than   
himself4 ,yet this singular and almost  

accidental character of his mission     
agrees with the divine sign which1      
according to our notions1 is equally    
accidental and irrational1 and is       
nevertheless accepted by him as the     
guiding principle of his life4 ,socrates
 is nowhere represented to us as a      
freethinker or sceptic4 ,there is no    
reason to doubt his sincerity when he   
speculates on the possibility of seeing 
and knowing the heroes of the ,trojan   
war in another world4 ,on the other     
hand1 his hope of immortality is        
uncertain2--he also conceives of death  
as a long sleep 7in this respect        
differing from the ,phdo71 and at last  
falls back on resignation to the divine 
will1 and the certainty that no evil can
 happen to the good man either in life  
or death4 ,his absolute truthfulness    
seems to hinder him from asserting      
positively more than this2 and he makes 
no attempt to veil his ignorance in     
mythology and figures of speech4 ,the   
gentleness of the first part of the     

speech contrasts with the aggravated1   
almost threatening1 tone of the         
conclusion4 ,he characteristically      
remarks that he will not speak as a     
rhetorician1 that is to say1 he will not
 make a regular defence such as ,lysias 
or one of the orators might have        
composed for him1 or1 according to some 
accounts1 did compose for him4 ,but he  
first procures himself a hearing by     
conciliatory words4 ,he does not attack 
the ,sophists2 for they were open to the
 same charges as himself2 they were     
equally ridiculed by the ,comic poets1  
and almost equally hateful to ,anytus   
and ,meletus4 ,yet incidentally the     
antagonism between ,socrates and the    
,sophists is allowed to appear4 ,he is  
poor and they are rich2 his profession  
that he teaches nothing is opposed to   
their readiness to teach all things2 his
 talking in the marketplace to their    
private instructions2 his tarry-at-home 
life to their wandering from city to    
city4 ,the tone which he assumes towards

 them is one of real friendliness1 but  
also of concealed irony4 ,towards       
,anaxagoras1 who had disappointed him in
 his hopes of learning about mind and   
nature1 he shows a less kindly feeling1 
which is also the feeling of ,plato in  
other passages 7,laws74 ,but ,anaxagoras
 had been dead thirty years1 and was    
beyond the reach of persecution4  ,it   
has been remarked that the prophecy of a
 new generation of teachers who would   
rebuke and exhort the ,athenian people  
in harsher and more violent terms was1  
as far as we know1 never fulfilled4 ,no 
inference can be drawn from this        
circumstance as to the probability of   
the words attributed to him having been 
actually uttered4 ,they express the     
aspiration of the first martyr of       
philosophy1 that he would leave behind  
him many followers1 accompanied by the  
not unnatural feeling that they would be
 fiercer and more inconsiderate in their
 words when emancipated from his        
control4  ,the above remarks must be    

understood as applying with any degree  
of certainty to the ,platonic ,socrates 
only4 ,for1 although these or similar   
words may have been spoken by ,socrates 
himself1 we cannot exclude the          
possibility1 that like so much else1    
e4g4 the wisdom of ,critias1 the poem of
 ,solon1 the virtues of ,charmides1 they
 may have been due only to the          
imagination of ,plato4 ,the arguments of
 those who maintain that the ,apology   
was composed during the process1 resting
 on no evidence1 do not require a       
serious refutation4 ,nor are the        
reasonings of ,schleiermacher1 who      
argues that the ,platonic defence is an 
exact or nearly exact reproduction of   
the words of ,socrates1 partly because  
,plato would not have been guilty of the
 impiety of altering them1 and also     
because many points of the defence might
 have been improved and strengthened1 at
 all more conclusive4 7,see ,english    
,translation47 ,what effect the death of
 ,socrates produced on the mind of      

,plato1 we cannot certainly determine2  
nor can we say how he would or must have
 written under the circumstances4 ,we   
observe that the enmity of ,aristophanes
 to ,socrates does not prevent ,plato   
from introducing them together in the   
,symposium engaged in friendly          
intercourse4 ,nor is there any trace in 
the ,dialogues of an attempt to make    
,anytus or ,meletus personally odious in
 the eyes of the ,athenian public4      
,,apology   ,how you1 ,o ,athenians1    
have been affected by my accusers1 ,i   
cannot tell2 but ,i know that they      
almost made me forget who ,i was--so    
persuasively did they speak2 and yet    
they have hardly uttered a word of      
truth4 ,but of the many falsehoods told 
by them1 there was one which quite      
amazed me2--,i mean when they said that 
you should be upon your guard and not   
allow yourselves to be deceived by the  
force of my eloquence4 ,to say this1    
when they were certain to be detected as
 soon as ,i opened my lips and proved   

myself to be anything but a great       
speaker1 did indeed appear to me most   
shameless--unless by the force of       
eloquence they mean the force of truth2 
for if such is their meaning1 ,i admit  
that ,i am eloquent4 ,but in how        
different a way from theirs6 ,well1 as  
,i was saying1 they have scarcely spoken
 the truth at all2 but from me you shall
 hear the whole truth3 not1 however1    
delivered after their manner in a set   
oration duly ornamented with words and  
phrases4 ,no1 by heaven6 but ,i shall   
use the words and arguments which occur 
to me at the moment2 for ,i am confident
 in the justice of my cause 7,or1 ,i am 
certain that ,i am right in taking this 
course473 at my time of life ,i ought   
not to be appearing before you1 ,o men  
of ,athens1 in the character of a       
juvenile orator--let no one expect it of
 me4 ,and ,i must beg of you to grant me
 a favour3--,if ,i defend myself in my  
accustomed manner1 and you hear me using
 the words which ,i have been in the    

habit of using in the agora1 at the     
tables of the money-changers1 or        
anywhere else1 ,i would ask you not to  
be surprised1 and not to interrupt me on
 this account4 ,for ,i am more than     
seventy years of age1 and appearing now 
for the first time in a court of law1 ,i
 am quite a stranger to the language of 
the place2 and therefore ,i would have  
you regard me as if ,i were really a    
stranger1 whom you would excuse if he   
spoke in his native tongue1 and after   
the fashion of his country3--,am ,i     
making an unfair request of you8 ,never 
mind the manner1 which may or may not be
 good2 but think only of the truth of my
 words1 and give heed to that3 let the  
speaker speak truly and the judge decide
 justly4  ,and first1 ,i have to reply  
to the older charges and to my first    
accusers1 and then ,i will go on to the 
later ones4 ,for of old ,i have had many
 accusers1 who have accused me falsely  
to you during many years2 and ,i am more
 afraid of them than of ,anytus and his 

associates1 who are dangerous1 too1 in  
their own way4 ,but far more dangerous  
are the others1 who began when you were 
children1 and took possession of your   
minds with their falsehoods1 telling of 
one ,socrates1 a wise man1 who          
speculated about the heaven above1 and  
searched into the earth beneath1 and    
made the worse appear the better cause4 
,the disseminators of this tale are the 
accusers whom ,i dread2 for their       
hearers are apt to fancy that such      
enquirers do not believe in the         
existence of the gods4 ,and they are    
many1 and their charges against me are  
of ancient date1 and they were made by  
them in the days when you were more     
impressible than you are now--in        
childhood1 or it may have been in       
youth--and the cause when heard went by 
default1 for there was none to answer4  
,and hardest of all1 ,i do not know and 
cannot tell the names of my accusers2   
unless in the chance case of a ,comic   
poet4 ,all who from envy and malice have

 persuaded you--some of them having     
first convinced themselves--all this    
class of men are most difficult to deal 
with2 for ,i cannot have them up here1  
and cross-examine them1 and therefore ,i
 must simply fight with shadows in my   
own defence1 and argue when there is no 
one who answers4 ,i will ask you then to
 assume with me1 as ,i was saying1 that 
my opponents are of two kinds2 one      
recent1 the other ancient3 and ,i hope  
that you will see the propriety of my   
answering the latter first1 for these   
accusations you heard long before the   
others1 and much oftener4  ,well1 then1 
,i must make my defence1 and endeavour  
to clear away in a short time1 a slander
 which has lasted a long time4 ,may ,i  
succeed1 if to succeed be for my good   
and yours1 or likely to avail me in my  
cause6 ,the task is not an easy one2 ,i 
quite understand the nature of it4 ,and 
so leaving the event with ,god1 in      
obedience to the law ,i will now make my
 defence4  ,i will begin at the         

beginning1 and ask what is the          
accusation which has given rise to the  
slander of me1 and in fact has          
encouraged ,meletus to proof this charge
 against me4 ,well1 what do the         
slanderers say8 ,they shall be my       
prosecutors1 and ,i will sum up their   
words in an affidavit3 8,socrates is an 
evil-doer1 and a curious person1 who    
searches into things under the earth and
 in heaven1 and he makes the worse      
appear the better cause2 and he teaches 
the aforesaid doctrines to others40     
,such is the nature of the accusation3  
it is just what you have yourselves seen
 in the comedy of ,aristophanes         
7,aristoph41 ,clouds471 who has         
introduced a man whom he calls          
,socrates1 going about and saying that  
he walks in air1 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 philosophy4 ,i should

 be very sorry if ,meletus could bring  
so grave a charge against me4 ,but the  
simple truth is1 ,o ,athenians1 that ,i 
have nothing to do with physical        
speculations4 ,very many of those here  
present are witnesses to the truth of   
this1 and to them ,i appeal4 ,speak     
then1 you who have heard me1 and tell   
your neighbours whether any of you have 
ever known me hold forth in few words or
 in many upon such matters444,you hear  
their answer4 ,and from what they say of
 this part of the charge you will be    
able to judge of the truth of the rest4 
,as little foundation is there for the  
report that ,i am a teacher1 and take   
money2 this accusation has no more truth
 in it than the other4 ,although1 if a  
man were really able to instruct        
mankind1 to receive money for giving    
instruction would1 in my opinion1 be an 
honour to him4 ,there is ,gorgias of    
,leontium1 and ,prodicus of ,ceos1 and  
,hippias of ,elis1 who go the round of  
the cities1 and are able to persuade the

 young men to leave their own citizens  
by whom they might be taught for        
nothing1 and come to them whom they not 
only pay1 but are thankful if they may  
be allowed to pay them4 ,there is at    
this time a ,parian philosopher residing
 in ,athens1 of whom ,i have heard2 and 
,i came to hear of him in this way3--,i 
came across a man who has spent a world 
of money on the ,sophists1 ,callias1 the
 son of ,hipponicus1 and knowing that he
 had sons1 ,i asked him3 8,callias10 ,i 
said1 8if your two sons were foals or   
calves1 there would be no difficulty in 
finding some one to put over them2 we   
should hire a trainer of horses1 or a   
farmer probably1 who would improve and  
perfect them in their own proper virtue 
and excellence2 but as they are human   
beings1 whom are you thinking of placing
 over them8 ,is there any one who       
understands human and political virtue8 
,you must have thought about the matter1
 for you have sons2 is there any one80  
8,there is10 he said4 8,who is he80 said

 ,i2 8and of what country8 and what does
 he charge80 8,evenus the ,parian10 he  
replied2 8he is the man1 and his charge 
is five min40 ,happy is ,evenus1 ,i said
 to myself1 if he really has this       
wisdom1 and teaches at such a moderate  
charge4 ,had ,i the same1 ,i should have
 been very proud and conceited2 but the 
truth is that ,i have no knowledge of   
the kind4  ,i dare say1 ,athenians1 that
 some one among you will reply1 8,yes1  
,socrates1 but what is the origin of    
these accusations which are brought     
against you2 there must have been       
something strange which you have been   
doing8 ,all these rumours and this talk 
about you would never have arisen if you
 had been like other men3 tell us1 then1
 what is the cause of them1 for we      
should be sorry to judge hastily of     
you40 ,now ,i regard this as a fair     
challenge1 and ,i will endeavour to     
explain to you the reason why ,i am     
called wise and have such an evil fame4 
,please to attend then4 ,and although   

some of you may think that ,i am joking1
 ,i declare that ,i will tell you the   
entire truth4 ,men of ,athens1 this     
reputation of mine has come of a certain
 sort of wisdom which ,i possess4 ,if   
you ask me what kind of wisdom1 ,i      
reply1 wisdom such as may perhaps be    
attained by man1 for to that extent ,i  
am inclined to believe that ,i am wise2 
whereas the persons of whom ,i was      
speaking have a superhuman wisdom which 
,i may fail to describe1 because ,i have
 it not myself2 and he who says that ,i 
have1 speaks falsely1 and is taking away
 my character4 ,and here1 ,o men of     
,athens1 ,i must beg you not to         
interrupt me1 even if ,i seem to say    
something extravagant4 ,for the word    
which ,i will speak is not mine4 ,i will
 refer you to a witness who is worthy of
 credit2 that witness shall be the ,god 
of ,delphi--he will tell you about my   
wisdom1 if ,i have any1 and of what sort
 it is4 ,you must have known            
,chaerephon2 he was early a friend of   

mine1 and also a friend of yours1 for he
 shared in the recent exile of the      
people1 and returned with you4 ,well1   
,chaerephon1 as you know1 was very      
impetuous in all his doings1 and he went
 to ,delphi and boldly asked the oracle 
to tell him whether--as ,i was saying1  
,i must beg you not to interrupt--he    
asked the oracle to tell him whether    
anyone was wiser than ,i was1 and the   
,pythian prophetess answered1 that there
 was no man wiser4 ,chaerephon is dead  
himself2 but his brother1 who is in     
court1 will confirm the truth of what ,i
 am saying4  ,why do ,i mention this8   
,because ,i am going to explain to you  
why ,i have such an evil name4 ,when ,i 
heard the answer1 ,i said to myself1    
,what can the god mean8 and what is the 
interpretation of his riddle8 for ,i    
know that ,i have no wisdom1 small or   
great4 ,what then can he mean when he   
says that ,i am the wisest of men8 ,and 
yet he is a god1 and cannot lie2 that   
would be against his nature4 ,after long

 consideration1 ,i thought of a method  
of trying the question4 ,i reflected    
that if ,i could only find a man wiser  
than myself1 then ,i might go to the god
 with a refutation in my hand4 ,i should
 say to him1 8,here is a man who is     
wiser than ,i am2 but you said that ,i  
was the wisest40 ,accordingly ,i went to
 one who had the reputation of wisdom1  
and observed him--his name ,i need not  
mention2 he was a politician whom ,i    
selected for examination--and the result
 was as follows3 ,when ,i began to talk 
with him1 ,i could not help thinking    
that he was not really wise1 although he
 was thought wise by many1 and still    
wiser by himself2 and thereupon ,i tried
 to explain to him that he thought      
himself wise1 but was not really wise2  
and the consequence was that he hated   
me1 and his enmity was shared by several
 who were present and heard me4 ,so ,i  
left him1 saying to myself1 as ,i went  
away3 ,well1 although ,i do not suppose 
that either of us knows anything really 

beautiful and good1 ,i am better off    
than he is1--for he knows nothing1 and  
thinks that he knows2 ,i neither know   
nor think that ,i know4 ,in this latter 
particular1 then1 ,i seem to have       
slightly the advantage of him4 ,then ,i 
went to another who had still higher    
pretensions to wisdom1 and my conclusion
 was exactly the same4 ,whereupon ,i    
made another enemy of him1 and of many  
others besides him4  ,then ,i went to   
one man after another1 being not        
unconscious of the enmity which ,i      
provoked1 and ,i lamented and feared    
this3 but necessity was laid upon       
me1--the word of ,god1 ,i thought1 ought
 to be considered first4 ,and ,i said to
 myself1 ,go ,i must to all who appear  
to know1 and find out the meaning of the
 oracle4 ,and ,i swear to you1          
,athenians1 by the dog ,i swear6--for ,i
 must tell you the truth--the result of 
my mission was just this3 ,i found that 
the men most in repute were all but the 
most foolish2 and that others less      

esteemed were really wiser and better4  
,i will tell you the tale of my         
wanderings and of the 8,herculean0      
labours1 as ,i may call them1 which ,i  
endured only to find at last the oracle 
irrefutable4 ,after the politicians1 ,i 
went to the poets2 tragic1 dithyrambic1 
and all sorts4 ,and there1 ,i said to   
myself1 you will be instantly detected2 
now you will find out that you are more 
ignorant than they are4 ,accordingly1 ,i
 took them some of the most elaborate   
passages in their own writings1 and     
asked what was the meaning of           
them--thinking that they would teach me 
something4 ,will you believe me8 ,i am  
almost ashamed to confess the truth1 but
 ,i must say that there is hardly a     
person present who would not have talked
 better about their poetry than they did
 themselves4 ,then ,i knew that not by  
wisdom do poets write poetry1 but by a  
sort of genius and inspiration2 they are
 like diviners or soothsayers who also  
say many fine things1 but do not        

understand the meaning of them4 ,the    
poets appeared to me to be much in the  
same case2 and ,i further observed that 
upon the strength of their poetry they  
believed themselves to be the wisest of 
men in other things in which they were  
not wise4 ,so ,i departed1 conceiving   
myself to be superior to them for the   
same reason that ,i was superior to the 
politicians4  ,at last ,i went to the   
artisans4 ,i was conscious that ,i knew 
nothing at all1 as ,i may say1 and ,i   
was sure that they knew many fine       
things2 and here ,i was not mistaken1   
for they did know many things of which  
,i was ignorant1 and in this they       
certainly were wiser than ,i was4 ,but  
,i observed that even the good artisans 
fell into the same error as the         
poets2--because they were good workmen  
they thought that they also knew all    
sorts of high matters1 and this defect  
in them overshadowed their wisdom2 and  
therefore ,i asked myself on behalf of  
the oracle1 whether ,i would like to be 

as ,i was1 neither having their         
knowledge nor their ignorance1 or like  
them in both2 and ,i made answer to     
myself and to the oracle that ,i was    
better off as ,i was4  ,this inquisition
 has led to my having many enemies of   
the worst and most dangerous kind1 and  
has given occasion also to many         
calumnies4 ,and ,i am called wise1 for  
my hearers always imagine that ,i myself
 possess the wisdom which ,i find       
wanting in others3 but the truth is1 ,o 
men of ,athens1 that ,god only is wise2 
and by his answer he intends to show    
that the wisdom of men is worth little  
or nothing2 he is not speaking of       
,socrates1 he is only using my name by  
way of illustration1 as if he said1 ,he1
 ,o men1 is the wisest1 who1 like       
,socrates1 knows that his wisdom is in  
truth worth nothing4 ,and so ,i go about
 the world1 obedient to the god1 and    
search and make enquiry into the wisdom 
of any one1 whether citizen or stranger1
 who appears to be wise2 and if he is   

not wise1 then in vindication of the    
oracle ,i show him that he is not wise2 
and my occupation quite absorbs me1 and 
,i have no time to give either to any   
public matter of interest or to any     
concern of my own1 but ,i am in utter   
poverty by reason of my devotion to the 
god4  ,there is another thing3--young   
men of the richer classes1 who have not 
much to do1 come about me of their own  
accord2 they like to hear the pretenders
 examined1 and they often imitate me1   
and proceed to examine others2 there are
 plenty of persons1 as they quickly     
discover1 who think that they know      
something1 but really know little or    
nothing2 and then those who are examined
 by them instead of being angry with    
themselves are angry with me3 ,this     
confounded ,socrates1 they say2 this    
villainous misleader of youth6--and then
 if somebody asks them1 ,why1 what evil 
does he practise or teach8 they do not  
know1 and cannot tell2 but in order that
 they may not appear to be at a loss1   

they repeat the ready-made charges which
 are used against all philosophers about
 teaching things up in the clouds and   
under the earth1 and having no gods1 and
 making the worse appear the better     
cause2 for they do not like to confess  
that their pretence of knowledge has    
been detected--which is the truth2 and  
as they are numerous and ambitious and  
energetic1 and are drawn up in battle   
array and have persuasive tongues1 they 
have filled your ears with their loud   
and inveterate calumnies4 ,and this is  
the reason why my three accusers1       
,meletus and ,anytus and ,lycon1 have   
set upon me2 ,meletus1 who has a quarrel
 with me on behalf of the poets2        
,anytus1 on behalf of the craftsmen and 
politicians2 ,lycon1 on behalf of the   
rhetoricians3 and as ,i said at the     
beginning1 ,i cannot expect to get rid  
of such a mass of calumny all in a      
moment4 ,and this1 ,o men of ,athens1 is
 the truth and the whole truth2 ,i have 
concealed nothing1 ,i have dissembled   

nothing4 ,and yet1 ,i know that my      
plainness of speech makes them hate me1 
and what is their hatred but a proof    
that ,i am speaking the truth8--,hence  
has arisen the prejudice against me2 and
 this is the reason of it1 as you will  
find out either in this or in any future
 enquiry4  ,i have said enough in my    
defence against the first class of my   
accusers2 ,i turn to the second class4  
,they are headed by ,meletus1 that good 
man and true lover of his country1 as he
 calls himself4 ,against these1 too1 ,i 
must try to make a defence3--,let their 
affidavit be read3 it contains something
 of this kind3 ,it says that ,socrates  
is a doer of evil1 who corrupts the     
youth2 and who does not believe in the  
gods of the state1 but has other new    
divinities of his own4 ,such is the     
charge2 and now let us examine the      
particular counts4 ,he says that ,i am a
 doer of evil1 and corrupt the youth2   
but ,i say1 ,o men of ,athens1 that     
,meletus is a doer of evil1 in that he  

pretends to be in earnest when he is    
only in jest1 and is so eager to bring  
men to trial from a pretended zeal and  
interest about matters in which he      
really never had the smallest interest4 
,and the truth of this ,i will endeavour
 to prove to you4  ,come hither1        
,meletus1 and let me ask a question of  
you4 ,you think a great deal about the  
improvement of youth8  ,yes1 ,i do4     
,tell the judges1 then1 who is their    
improver2 for you must know1 as you have
 taken the pains to discover their      
corrupter1 and are citing and accusing  
me before them4 ,speak1 then1 and tell  
the judges who their improver           
is4--,observe1 ,meletus1 that you are   
silent1 and have nothing to say4 ,but is
 not this rather disgraceful1 and a very
 considerable proof of what ,i was      
saying1 that you have no interest in the
 matter8 ,speak up1 friend1 and tell us 
who their improver is4  ,the laws4  ,but
 that1 my good sir1 is not my meaning4  
,i want to know who the person is1 who1 

in the first place1 knows the laws4     
,the judges1 ,socrates1 who are present 
in court4  ,what1 do you mean to say1   
,meletus1 that they are able to instruct
 and improve youth8  ,certainly they    
are4  ,what1 all of them1 or some only  
and not others8  ,all of them4  ,by the 
goddess ,here1 that is good news6 ,there
 are plenty of improvers1 then4 ,and    
what do you say of the audience1--do    
they improve them8  ,yes1 they do4  ,and
 the senators8  ,yes1 the senators      
improve them4  ,but perhaps the members 
of the assembly corrupt them8--or do    
they too improve them8  ,they improve   
them4  ,then every ,athenian improves   
and elevates them2 all with the         
exception of myself2 and ,i alone am    
their corrupter8 ,is that what you      
affirm8  ,that is what ,i stoutly       
affirm4  ,i am very unfortunate if you  
are right4 ,but suppose ,i ask you a    
question3 ,how about horses8 ,does one  
man do them harm and all the world good8
 ,is not the exact opposite the truth8  

,one man is able to do them good1 or at 
least not many2--the trainer of horses1 
that is to say1 does them good1 and     
others who have to do with them rather  
injure them8 ,is not that true1         
,meletus1 of horses1 or of any other    
animals8 ,most assuredly it is2 whether 
you and ,anytus say yes or no4 ,happy   
indeed would be the condition of youth  
if they had one corrupter only1 and all 
the rest of the world were their        
improvers4 ,but you1 ,meletus1 have     
sufficiently shown that you never had a 
thought about the young3 your           
carelessness is seen in your not caring 
about the very things which you bring   
against me4  ,and now1 ,meletus1 ,i will
 ask you another question--by ,zeus ,i  
will3 ,which is better1 to live among   
bad citizens1 or among good ones8       
,answer1 friend1 ,i say2 the question is
 one which may be easily answered4 ,do  
not the good do their neighbours good1  
and the bad do them evil8  ,certainly4  
,and is there anyone who would rather be

 injured than benefited by those who    
live with him8 ,answer1 my good friend1 
the law requires you to answer--does any
 one like to be injured8  ,certainly    
not4  ,and when you accuse me of        
corrupting and deteriorating the youth1 
do you allege that ,i corrupt them      
intentionally or unintentionally8       
,intentionally1 ,i say4  ,but you have  
just admitted that the good do their    
neighbours good1 and the evil do them   
evil4 ,now1 is that a truth which your  
superior wisdom has recognized thus     
early in life1 and am ,i1 at my age1 in 
such darkness and ignorance as not to   
know that if a man with whom ,i have to 
live is corrupted by me1 ,i am very     
likely to be harmed by him2 and yet ,i  
corrupt him1 and intentionally1 too--so 
you say1 although neither ,i nor any    
other human being is ever likely to be  
convinced by you4 ,but either ,i do not 
corrupt them1 or ,i corrupt them        
unintentionally2 and on either view of  
the case you lie4 ,if my offence is     

unintentional1 the law has no cognizance
 of unintentional offences3 you ought to
 have taken me privately1 and warned and
 admonished me2 for if ,i had been      
better advised1 ,i should have left off 
doing what ,i only did                  
unintentionally--no doubt ,i should2 but
 you would have nothing to say to me and
 refused to teach me4 ,and now you bring
 me up in this court1 which is a place  
not of instruction1 but of punishment4  
,it will be very clear to you1          
,athenians1 as ,i was saying1 that      
,meletus has no care at all1 great or   
small1 about the matter4 ,but still ,i  
should like to know1 ,meletus1 in what  
,i am affirmed to corrupt the young4 ,i 
suppose you mean1 as ,i infer from your 
indictment1 that ,i teach them not to   
acknowledge the gods which the state    
acknowledges1 but some other new        
divinities or spiritual agencies in     
their stead4 ,these are the lessons by  
which ,i corrupt the youth1 as you say4 
,yes1 that ,i say emphatically4  ,then1 

by the gods1 ,meletus1 of whom we are   
speaking1 tell me and the court1 in     
somewhat plainer terms1 what you mean6  
for ,i do not as yet understand whether 
you affirm that ,i teach other men to   
acknowledge some gods1 and therefore    
that ,i do believe in gods1 and am not  
an entire atheist--this you do not lay  
to my charge1--but only you say that    
they are not the same gods which the    
city recognizes--the charge is that they
 are different gods4 ,or1 do you mean   
that ,i am an atheist simply1 and a     
teacher of atheism8  ,i mean the        
latter--that you are a complete atheist4
  ,what an extraordinary statement6 ,why
 do you think so1 ,meletus8 ,do you mean
 that ,i do not believe in the godhead  
of the sun or moon1 like other men8  ,i 
assure you1 judges1 that he does not3   
for he says that the sun is stone1 and  
the moon earth4  ,friend ,meletus1 you  
think that you are accusing ,anaxagoras3
 and you have but a bad opinion of the  
judges1 if you fancy them illiterate to 

such a degree as not to know that these 
doctrines are found in the books of     
,anaxagoras the ,clazomenian1 which are 
full of them4 ,and so1 forsooth1 the    
youth are said to be taught them by     
,socrates1 when there are not           
unfrequently exhibitions of them at the 
theatre 7,probably in allusion to       
,aristophanes who caricatured1 and to   
,euripides who borrowed the notions of  
,anaxagoras1 as well as to other        
dramatic poets47 7price of admission one
 drachma at the most72 and they might   
pay their money1 and laugh at ,socrates 
if he pretends to father these          
extraordinary views4 ,and so1 ,meletus1 
you really think that ,i do not believe 
in any god8  ,i swear by ,zeus that you 
believe absolutely in none at all4      
,nobody will believe you1 ,meletus1 and 
,i am pretty sure that you do not       
believe yourself4 ,i cannot help        
thinking1 men of ,athens1 that ,meletus 
is reckless and impudent1 and that he   
has written this indictment in a spirit 

of mere wantonness and youthful bravado4
 ,has he not compounded a riddle1       
thinking to try me8 ,he said to         
himself3--,i shall see whether the wise 
,socrates will discover my facetious    
contradiction1 or whether ,i shall be   
able to deceive him and the rest of     
them4 ,for 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 gods1 and yet of believing in       
them--but this is not like a person who 
is in earnest4  ,i should like you1 ,o  
men of ,athens1 to join me in examining 
what ,i conceive to be his              
inconsistency2 and do you1 ,meletus1    
answer4 ,and ,i must remind the audience
 of my request that they would not make 
a disturbance if ,i speak in my         
accustomed manner3  ,did ever man1      
,meletus1 believe in the existence of   
human things1 and not of human          
beings8444,i wish1 men of ,athens1 that 
he would answer1 and not be always      

trying to get up an interruption4 ,did  
ever any man believe in horsemanship1   
and not in horses8 or in flute-playing1 
and not in flute-players8 ,no1 my       
friend2 ,i will answer to you and to the
 court1 as you refuse to answer for     
yourself4 ,there is no man who ever did4
 ,but now please to answer the next     
question3 ,can a man believe in         
spiritual and divine agencies1 and not  
in spirits or demigods8  ,he cannot4    
,how lucky ,i am to have extracted that 
answer1 by the assistance of the court6 
,but then you swear in the indictment   
that ,i teach and believe in divine or  
spiritual agencies 7new or old1 no      
matter for that72 at any rate1 ,i       
believe in spiritual agencies1--so you  
say and swear in the affidavit2 and yet 
if ,i believe in divine beings1 how can 
,i help believing in spirits or         
demigods2--must ,i not8 ,to be sure ,i  
must2 and therefore ,i may assume that  
your silence gives consent4 ,now what   
are spirits or demigods8 ,are they not  

either gods or the sons of gods8        
,certainly they are4  ,but this is what 
,i call the facetious riddle invented by
 you3 the demigods or spirits are gods1 
and you say first that ,i do not believe
 in gods1 and then again that ,i do     
believe in gods2 that is1 if ,i believe 
in demigods4 ,for if the demigods are   
the illegitimate sons of gods1 whether  
by the nymphs or by any other mothers1  
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 gods8 ,you might as well affirm 
the existence of mules1 and deny that of
 horses and asses4 ,such nonsense1      
,meletus1 could only have been intended 
by you to make trial of me4 ,you have   
put this into the indictment because you
 had nothing real of which to accuse me4
 ,but no one who has a particle of      
understanding will ever be convinced by 
you that the same men can believe in    
divine and superhuman things1 and yet   
not believe that there are gods and     

demigods and heroes4  ,i have said      
enough in answer to the charge of       
,meletus3 any elaborate defence is      
unnecessary1 but ,i know only too well  
how many are the enmities which ,i have 
incurred1 and this is what will be my   
destruction if ,i am destroyed2--not    
,meletus1 nor yet ,anytus1 but the envy 
and detraction of the world1 which has  
been the death of many good men1 and    
will probably be the death of many more2
 there is no danger of my being the last
 of them4  ,some one will say3 ,and are 
you not ashamed1 ,socrates1 of a course 
of life which is likely to bring you to 
an untimely end8 ,to him ,i may fairly  
answer3 ,there you are mistaken3 a man  
who is good for anything ought not to   
calculate the chance of living or dying2
 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 bad4 ,whereas1 upon your view1 the 
heroes who fell at ,troy were not good  
for much1 and the son of ,thetis above  

all1 who altogether despised danger in  
comparison with disgrace2 and when he   
was so eager to slay ,hector1 his       
goddess mother said to him1 that if he  
avenged his companion ,patroclus1 and   
slew ,hector1 he would die              
himself--8,fate10 she said1 in these or 
the like words1 8waits for you next     
after ,hector20 he1 receiving this      
warning1 utterly despised danger and    
death1 and instead of fearing them1     
feared rather to live in dishonour1 and 
not to avenge his friend4 8,let me die  
forthwith10 he replies1 8and be avenged 
of my enemy1 rather than abide here by  
the beaked ships1 a laughing-stock and a
 burden of the earth40 ,had ,achilles   
any thought of death and danger8 ,for   
wherever a man's place is1 whether the  
place which he has chosen or that in    
which he has been placed by a commander1
 there he ought to remain in the hour of
 danger2 he should not think of death or
 of anything but of disgrace4 ,and this1
 ,o men of ,athens1 is a true saying4   

,strange1 indeed1 would be my conduct1  
,o men of ,athens1 if ,i who1 when ,i   
was ordered by the generals whom you    
chose to command me at ,potidaea and    
,amphipolis and ,delium1 remained where 
they placed me1 like any other man1     
facing death--if now1 when1 as ,i       
conceive and imagine1 ,god orders me to 
fulfil the philosopher's mission of     
searching into myself and other men1 ,i 
were to desert my post through fear of  
death1 or any other fear2 that would    
indeed be strange1 and ,i might justly  
be arraigned in court for denying the   
existence of the gods1 if ,i disobeyed  
the oracle because ,i was afraid of     
death1 fancying that ,i was wise when ,i
 was not wise4 ,for the fear of death is
 indeed the pretence of wisdom1 and not 
real wisdom1 being a pretence of knowing
 the unknown2 and no one knows whether  
death1 which men in their fear apprehend
 to be the greatest evil1 may not be the
 greatest good4 ,is not this ignorance  
of a disgraceful sort1 the ignorance    

which is the conceit that a man knows   
what he does not know8 ,and in this     
respect only ,i believe myself to differ
 from men in general1 and may perhaps   
claim to be wiser than they are3--that  
whereas ,i know but little of the world 
below1 ,i do not suppose that ,i know3  
but ,i do know that injustice and       
disobedience to a better1 whether ,god  
or man1 is evil and dishonourable1 and  
,i will never fear or avoid a possible  
good rather than a certain evil4 ,and   
therefore if you let me go now1 and are 
not convinced by ,anytus1 who said that 
since ,i had been prosecuted ,i must be 
put to death2 7or if not that ,i ought  
never to have been prosecuted at all72  
and that if ,i escape now1 your sons    
will all be utterly ruined by listening 
to my words--if you say to me1          
,socrates1 this time we will not mind   
,anytus1 and you shall be let off1 but  
upon one condition1 that you are not to 
enquire and speculate in this way any   
more1 and that if you are caught doing  

so again you shall die2--if this was the
 condition on which you let me go1 ,i   
should reply3 ,men of ,athens1 ,i honour
 and love you2 but ,i shall obey ,god   
rather than you1 and while ,i have life 
and strength ,i shall never cease from  
the practice and teaching of philosophy1
 exhorting any one whom ,i meet and     
saying to him after my manner3 ,you1 my 
friend1--a citizen of the great and     
mighty and wise city of ,athens1--are   
you not ashamed of heaping up the       
greatest amount of money and honour and 
reputation1 and caring so little about  
wisdom and truth and the greatest       
improvement of the soul1 which you never
 regard or heed at all8 ,and if the     
person with whom ,i am arguing1 says3   
,yes1 but ,i do care2 then ,i do not    
leave him or let him go at once2 but ,i 
proceed to interrogate and examine and  
cross-examine him1 and if ,i think that 
he has no virtue in him1 but only says  
that he has1 ,i reproach him with       
undervaluing the greater1 and           

overvaluing the less4 ,and ,i shall     
repeat the same words to every one whom 
,i meet1 young and old1 citizen and     
alien1 but especially to the citizens1  
inasmuch as they are my brethren4 ,for  
know that this is the command of ,god2  
and ,i believe that no greater good has 
ever happened in the state than my      
service to the ,god4 ,for ,i do nothing 
but go about persuading you all1 old and
 young alike1 not to take thought for   
your persons or your properties1 but    
first and chiefly to care about the     
greatest improvement of the soul4 ,i    
tell you that virtue is not given by    
money1 but that from virtue comes money 
and every other good of man1 public as  
well as private4 ,this is my teaching1  
and if this is the doctrine which       
corrupts the youth1 ,i am a mischievous 
person4 ,but if any one says that this  
is not my teaching1 he is speaking an   
untruth4 ,wherefore1 ,o men of ,athens1 
,i say to you1 do as ,anytus bids or not
 as ,anytus bids1 and either acquit me  

or not2 but whichever you do1 understand
 that ,i shall never alter my ways1 not 
even if ,i have to die many times4  ,men
 of ,athens1 do not interrupt1 but hear 
me2 there was an understanding between  
us that you should hear me to the end3  
,i have something more to say1 at which 
you may be inclined to cry out2 but ,i  
believe that to hear me will be good for
 you1 and therefore ,i beg that you will
 not cry out4 ,i would have you know1   
that if you kill such an one as ,i am1  
you will injure yourselves more than you
 will injure me4 ,nothing will injure   
me1 not ,meletus nor yet ,anytus--they  
cannot1 for a bad man is not permitted  
to injure a better than himself4 ,i do  
not deny that ,anytus may1 perhaps1 kill
 him1 or drive him into exile1 or       
deprive him of civil rights2 and he may 
imagine1 and others may imagine1 that he
 is inflicting a great injury upon him3 
but there ,i do not agree4 ,for the evil
 of doing as he is doing--the evil of   
unjustly taking away the life of        

another--is greater far4  ,and now1     
,athenians1 ,i am not going to argue for
 my own sake1 as you may think1 but for 
yours1 that you may not sin against the 
,god by condemning me1 who am his gift  
to you4 ,for if you kill me you will not
 easily find a successor to me1 who1 if 
,i may use such a ludicrous figure of   
speech1 am a sort of gadfly1 given to   
the state by ,god2 and the state is a   
great and noble steed who is tardy in   
his motions owing to his very size1 and 
requires to be stirred into life4 ,i am 
that gadfly which ,god has attached to  
the state1 and all day long and in all  
places am always fastening upon you1    
arousing and persuading and reproaching 
you4 ,you will not easily find another  
like me1 and therefore ,i would advise  
you to spare me4 ,i dare say that you   
may feel out of temper 7like a person   
who is suddenly awakened from sleep71   
and you think that you might easily     
strike me dead as ,anytus advises1 and  
then you would sleep on for the         

remainder of your lives1 unless ,god in 
his care of you sent you another gadfly4
 ,when ,i say that ,i am given to you by
 ,god1 the proof of my mission is       
this3--if ,i had been like other men1 ,i
 should not have neglected all my own   
concerns or patiently seen the neglect  
of them during all these years1 and have
 been doing yours1 coming to you        
individually like a father or elder     
brother1 exhorting you to regard virtue2
 such conduct1 ,i say1 would be unlike  
human nature4 ,if ,i had gained         
anything1 or if my exhortations had been
 paid1 there would have been some sense 
in my doing so2 but now1 as you will    
perceive1 not even the impudence of my  
accusers dares to say that ,i have ever 
exacted or sought pay of any one2 of    
that they have no witness4 ,and ,i have 
a sufficient witness to the truth of    
what ,i say--my poverty4  ,some one may 
wonder why ,i go about in private giving
 advice and busying myself with the     
concerns of others1 but do not venture  

to come forward in public and advise the
 state4 ,i will tell you why4 ,you have 
heard me speak at sundry times and in   
divers places of an oracle or sign which
 comes to me1 and is the divinity which 
,meletus ridicules in the indictment4   
,this sign1 which is a kind of voice1   
first began to come to me when ,i was a 
child2 it always forbids but never      
commands me to do anything which ,i am  
going to do4 ,this is what deters me    
from being a politician4 ,and rightly1  
as ,i think4 ,for ,i am certain1 ,o men 
of ,athens1 that if ,i had engaged in   
politics1 ,i should have perished long  
ago1 and done no good either to you or  
to myself4 ,and do not be offended at my
 telling you the truth3 for the truth   
is1 that no man who goes to war with you
 or any other multitude1 honestly       
striving against the many lawless and   
unrighteous deeds which are done in a   
state1 will save his life2 he who will  
fight for the right1 if he would live   
even for a brief space1 must have a     

private station and not a public one4   
,i can give you convincing evidence of  
what ,i say1 not words only1 but what   
you value far more--actions4 ,let me    
relate to you a passage of my own life  
which will prove to you that ,i should  
never have yielded to injustice from any
 fear of death1 and that 8as ,i should  
have refused to yield0 ,i must have died
 at once4 ,i will tell you a tale of the
 courts1 not very interesting perhaps1  
but nevertheless true4 ,the only office 
of state which ,i ever held1 ,o men of  
,athens1 was that of senator3 the tribe 
,antiochis1 which is my tribe1 had the  
presidency at the trial of the generals 
who had not taken up the bodies of the  
slain after the battle of ,arginusae2   
and you proposed to try them in a body1 
contrary to law1 as you all thought     
afterwards2 but at the time ,i was the  
only one of the ,prytanes who was       
opposed to the illegality1 and ,i gave  
my vote against you2 and when the       
orators threatened to impeach and arrest

 me1 and you called and shouted1 ,i made
 up my mind that ,i would run the risk1 
having law and justice with me1 rather  
than take part in your injustice because
 ,i feared imprisonment and death4 ,this
 happened in the days of the democracy4 
,but when the oligarchy of the ,thirty  
was in power1 they sent for me and four 
others into the rotunda1 and bade us    
bring ,leon the ,salaminian from        
,salamis1 as they wanted to put him to  
death4 ,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 crimes2 and   
then ,i showed1 not in word only but in 
deed1 that1 if ,i may be allowed to use 
such an expression1 ,i cared not a straw
 for death1 and that my great and only  
care was lest ,i should do an           
unrighteous or unholy thing4 ,for the   
strong arm of that oppressive power did 
not frighten me into doing wrong2 and   
when we came out of the rotunda the     
other four went to ,salamis and fetched 

,leon1 but ,i went quietly home4 ,for   
which ,i might have lost my life1 had   
not the power of the ,thirty shortly    
afterwards come to an end4 ,and many    
will witness to my words4  ,now do you  
really imagine that ,i could have       
survived all these years1 if ,i had led 
a public life1 supposing that like a    
good man ,i had always maintained the   
right and had made justice1 as ,i ought1
 the first thing8 ,no indeed1 men of    
,athens1 neither ,i nor any other man4  
,but ,i have been always the same in all
 my actions1 public as well as private1 
and never have ,i yielded any base      
compliance to those who are slanderously
 termed my disciples1 or to any other4  
,not that ,i have any regular disciples4
 ,but if any one likes to come and hear 
me while ,i am pursuing my mission1     
whether he be young or old1 he is not   
excluded4 ,nor do ,i converse only with 
those who pay2 but any one1 whether he  
be rich or poor1 may ask and answer me  
and listen to my words2 and whether he  

turns out to be a bad man or a good one1
 neither result can be justly imputed to
 me2 for ,i never taught or professed to
 teach him anything4 ,and if any one    
says that he has ever learned or heard  
anything from me in private which all   
the world has not heard1 let me tell you
 that he is lying4  ,but ,i shall be    
asked1 ,why do people delight in        
continually conversing with you8 ,i have
 told you already1 ,athenians1 the whole
 truth about this matter3 they like to  
hear the cross-examination of the       
pretenders to wisdom2 there is amusement
 in it4 ,now this duty of               
cross-examining other men has been      
imposed upon me by ,god2 and has been   
signified to me by oracles1 visions1 and
 in every way in which the will of      
divine power was ever intimated to any  
one4 ,this is true1 ,o ,athenians1 or1  
if not true1 would be soon refuted4 ,if 
,i am or have been corrupting the youth1
 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 accusers1 and    
take their revenge2 or if they do not   
like to come themselves1 some of their  
relatives1 fathers1 brothers1 or other  
kinsmen1 should say what evil their     
families have suffered at my hands4 ,now
 is their time4 ,many of them ,i see in 
the court4 ,there is ,crito1 who is of  
the same age and of the same deme with  
myself1 and there is ,critobulus his    
son1 whom ,i also see4 ,then again there
 is ,lysanias of ,sphettus1 who is the  
father of ,aeschines--he is present2 and
 also there is ,antiphon of ,cephisus1  
who is the father of ,epigenes2 and     
there are the brothers of several who   
have associated with me4 ,there is      
,nicostratus the son of ,theosdotides1  
and the brother of ,theodotus 7now      
,theodotus himself is dead1 and         
therefore he1 at any rate1 will not seek
 to stop him72 and there is ,paralus the
 son of ,demodocus1 who had a brother   
,theages2 and ,adeimantus the son of    

,ariston1 whose brother ,plato is       
present2 and ,aeantodorus1 who is the   
brother of ,apollodorus1 whom ,i also   
see4 ,i might mention a great many      
others1 some of whom ,meletus should    
have produced as witnesses in the course
 of his speech2 and let him still       
produce them1 if he has forgotten--,i   
will make way for him4 ,and let him say1
 if he has any testimony of the sort    
which he can produce4 ,nay1 ,athenians1 
the very opposite is the truth4 ,for all
 these are ready to witness on behalf of
 the corrupter1 of the injurer of their 
kindred1 as ,meletus and ,anytus call   
me2 not the corrupted youth only--there 
might have been a motive for that--but  
their uncorrupted elder relatives4 ,why 
should they too support me with their   
testimony8 ,why1 indeed1 except for the 
sake of truth and justice1 and because  
they know that ,i am speaking the truth1
 and that ,meletus is a liar4  ,well1   
,athenians1 this and the like of this is
 all the defence which ,i have to offer4

 ,yet a word more4 ,perhaps there may be
 some one who is offended at me1 when he
 calls to mind how he himself on a      
similar1 or even a less serious         
occasion1 prayed and entreated the      
judges with many tears1 and how he      
produced his children in court1 which   
was a moving spectacle1 together with a 
host of relations and friends2 whereas  
,i1 who am probably in danger of my     
life1 will do none of these things4 ,the
 contrast may occur to his mind1 and he 
may be set against me1 and vote in anger
 because he is displeased at me on this 
account4 ,now if there be such a person 
among you1--mind1 ,i do not say that    
there is1--to him ,i may fairly reply3  
,my friend1 ,i am a man1 and like other 
men1 a creature of flesh and blood1 and 
not 8of wood or stone10 as ,homer says2 
and ,i have a family1 yes1 and sons1 ,o 
,athenians1 three in number1 one almost 
a man1 and two others who are still     
young2 and yet ,i will not bring any of 
them hither in order to petition you for

 an acquittal4 ,and why not8 ,not from  
any self-assertion or want of respect   
for you4 ,whether ,i am or am not afraid
 of death is another question1 of which 
,i will not now speak4 ,but1 having     
regard to public opinion1 ,i feel that  
such conduct would be discreditable to  
myself1 and to you1 and to the whole    
state4 ,one who has reached my years1   
and who has a name for wisdom1 ought not
 to demean himself4 ,whether this       
opinion of me be deserved or not1 at any
 rate the world has decided that        
,socrates is in some way superior to    
other men4 ,and if those among you who  
are said to be superior in wisdom and   
courage1 and any other virtue1 demean   
themselves in this way1 how shameful is 
their conduct6 ,i have seen men of      
reputation1 when they have been         
condemned1 behaving in the strangest    
manner3 they seemed to fancy that they  
were going to suffer something dreadful 
if they died1 and that they could be    
immortal if you only allowed them to    

live2 and ,i think that such are a      
dishonour to the state1 and that any    
stranger coming in would have said of   
them that the most eminent men of       
,athens1 to whom the ,athenians         
themselves give honour and command1 are 
no better than women4 ,and ,i say that  
these things ought not to be done by    
those of us who have a reputation2 and  
if they are done1 you ought not to      
permit them2 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 ridiculous1    
than him who holds his peace4  ,but1    
setting aside the question of public    
opinion1 there seems to be something    
wrong in asking a favour of a judge1 and
 thus procuring an acquittal1 instead of
 informing and convincing him4 ,for his 
duty is1 not to make a present of       
justice1 but to give judgment2 and he   
has sworn that he will judge according  
to the laws1 and not according to his   
own good pleasure2 and we ought not to  

encourage you1 nor should you allow     
yourselves to be encouraged1 in this    
habit of perjury--there can be no piety 
in that4 ,do not then require me to do  
what ,i consider dishonourable and      
impious and wrong1 especially now1 when 
,i am being tried for impiety on the    
indictment of ,meletus4 ,for if1 ,o men 
of ,athens1 by force of persuasion and  
entreaty ,i could overpower your oaths1 
then ,i should be teaching you to       
believe that there are no gods1 and in  
defending should simply convict myself  
of the charge of not believing in them4 
,but that is not so--far otherwise4 ,for
 ,i do believe that there are gods1 and 
in a sense higher than that in which any
 of my accusers believe in them4 ,and to
 you and to ,god ,i commit my cause1 to 
be determined by you as is best for you 
and me4   ,there are many reasons why ,i
 am not grieved1 ,o men of ,athens1 at  
the vote of condemnation4 ,i expected   
it1 and am only surprised that the votes
 are so nearly equal2 for ,i had thought

 that the majority against me would have
 been far larger2 but now1 had thirty   
votes gone over to the other side1 ,i   
should have been acquitted4 ,and ,i may 
say1 ,i think1 that ,i have escaped     
,meletus4 ,i may say more2 for without  
the assistance of ,anytus and ,lycon1   
any one may see that he would not have  
had a fifth part of the votes1 as the   
law requires1 in which case he would    
have incurred a fine of a thousand      
drachmae4  ,and so he proposes death as 
the penalty4 ,and what shall ,i propose 
on my part1 ,o men of ,athens8 ,clearly 
that which is my due4 ,and what is my   
due8 ,what return shall be made to the  
man who has never had the wit to be idle
 during his whole life2 but has been    
careless of what the many care          
for--wealth1 and family interests1 and  
military offices1 and speaking in the   
assembly1 and magistracies1 and plots1  
and parties4 ,reflecting that ,i was    
really too honest a man to be a         
politician and live1 ,i did not go where

 ,i could do no good to you or to       
myself2 but where ,i could do the       
greatest good privately to every one of 
you1 thither ,i went1 and sought to     
persuade every man among you that he    
must look to himself1 and seek virtue   
and wisdom before he looks to his       
private interests1 and look to the state
 before he looks to the interests of the
 state2 and that this should be the     
order which he observes in all his      
actions4 ,what shall be done to such an 
one8 ,doubtless some good thing1 ,o men 
of ,athens1 if he has his reward2 and   
the good should be of a kind suitable to
 him4 ,what would be a reward suitable  
to a poor man who is your benefactor1   
and who desires leisure that he may     
instruct you8 ,there can be no reward so
 fitting as maintenance in the          
,prytaneum1 ,o men of ,athens1 a reward 
which he deserves far more than the     
citizen who has won the prize at        
,olympia in the horse or chariot race1  
whether the chariots were drawn by two  

horses or by many4 ,for ,i am in want1  
and he has enough2 and he only gives you
 the appearance of happiness1 and ,i    
give you the reality4 ,and if ,i am to  
estimate the penalty fairly1 ,i should  
say that maintenance in the ,prytaneum  
is the just return4  ,perhaps you think 
that ,i am braving you in what ,i am    
saying now1 as in what ,i said before   
about the tears and prayers4 ,but this  
is not so4 ,i speak rather because ,i am
 convinced that ,i never intentionally  
wronged any one1 although ,i cannot     
convince you--the time has been too     
short2 if there were a law at ,athens1  
as there is in other cities1 that a     
capital cause should not be decided in  
one day1 then ,i believe that ,i should 
have convinced you4 ,but ,i cannot in a 
moment refute great slanders2 and1 as ,i
 am convinced that ,i never wronged     
another1 ,i will assuredly not wrong    
myself4 ,i will not say of myself that  
,i deserve any evil1 or propose any     
penalty4 ,why should ,i8 because ,i am  

afraid of the penalty of death which    
,meletus proposes8 ,when ,i do not know 
whether death is a good or an evil1 why 
should ,i propose a penalty which would 
certainly be an evil8 ,shall ,i say     
imprisonment8 ,and why should ,i live in
 prison1 and be the slave of the        
magistrates of the year--of the ,eleven8
 ,or shall the penalty be a fine1 and   
imprisonment until the fine is paid8    
,there is the same objection4 ,i should 
have to lie in prison1 for money ,i have
 none1 and cannot pay4 ,and if ,i say   
exile 7and this may possibly be the     
penalty which you will affix71 ,i must  
indeed be blinded by the love of life1  
if ,i am so irrational as to expect that
 when you1 who are my own citizens1     
cannot endure my discourses and words1  
and have found them so grievous and     
odious that you will have no more of    
them1 others are likely to endure me4   
,no indeed1 men of ,athens1 that is not 
very likely4 ,and what a life should ,i 
lead1 at my age1 wandering from city to 

city1 ever changing my place of exile1  
and always being driven out6 ,for ,i am 
quite sure that wherever ,i go1 there1  
as here1 the young men will flock to me2
 and if ,i drive them away1 their elders
 will drive me out at their request2 and
 if ,i let them come1 their fathers and 
friends will drive me out for their     
sakes4  ,some one will say3 ,yes1       
,socrates1 but cannot you hold your     
tongue1 and then you may go into a      
foreign city1 and no one will interfere 
with you8 ,now ,i have great difficulty 
in making you understand my answer to   
this4 ,for if ,i tell you that to do as 
you say would be a disobedience to the  
,god1 and therefore that ,i cannot hold 
my tongue1 you will not believe that ,i 
am serious2 and if ,i say again that    
daily to discourse about virtue1 and of 
those other things about which you hear 
me examining myself and others1 is the  
greatest good of man1 and that the      
unexamined life is not worth living1 you
 are still less likely to believe me4   

,yet ,i say what is true1 although a    
thing of which it is hard for me to     
persuade you4 ,also1 ,i have never been 
accustomed to think that ,i deserve to  
suffer any harm4 ,had ,i money ,i might 
have estimated the offence at what ,i   
was able to pay1 and not have been much 
the worse4 ,but ,i have none1 and       
therefore ,i must ask you to proportion 
the fine to my means4 ,well1 perhaps ,i 
could afford a mina1 and therefore ,i   
propose that penalty3 ,plato1 ,crito1   
,critobulus1 and ,apollodorus1 my       
friends here1 bid me say thirty min1 and
 they will be the sureties4 ,let thirty 
min be the penalty2 for which sum they  
will be ample security to you4   ,not   
much time will be gained1 ,o ,athenians1
 in return for the evil name which you  
will get from the detractors of the     
city1 who will say that you killed      
,socrates1 a wise man2 for they will    
call me wise1 even although ,i am not   
wise1 when they want to reproach you4   
,if you had waited a little while1 your 

desire would have been fulfilled in the 
course of nature4 ,for ,i am far        
advanced in years1 as you may perceive1 
and not far from death4 ,i am speaking  
now not to all of you1 but only to those
 who have condemned me to death4 ,and ,i
 have another thing to say to them3 you 
think that ,i was convicted because ,i  
had no words of the sort which would    
have procured my acquittal--,i mean1 if 
,i had thought fit to leave nothing     
undone or unsaid4 ,not so2 the          
deficiency which led to my conviction   
was not of words--certainly not4 ,but ,i
 had not the boldness or impudence or   
inclination to address you as you would 
have liked me to do1 weeping and wailing
 and lamenting1 and saying and doing    
many things which you have been         
accustomed to hear from others1 and     
which1 as ,i maintain1 are unworthy of  
me4 ,i thought at the time that ,i ought
 not to do anything common or mean when 
in danger3 nor do ,i now repent of the  
style of my defence2 ,i would rather die

 having spoken after my manner1 than    
speak in your manner and live4 ,for     
neither in war nor yet at law ought ,i  
or any man to use every way of escaping 
death4 ,often in battle there can be no 
doubt that if a man will throw away his 
arms1 and fall on his knees before his  
pursuers1 he may escape death2 and in   
other dangers there are other ways of   
escaping death1 if a man is willing to  
say and do anything4 ,the difficulty1 my
 friends1 is not to avoid death1 but to 
avoid unrighteousness2 for that runs    
faster than death4 ,i am old and move   
slowly1 and the slower runner has       
overtaken me1 and my accusers are keen  
and quick1 and the faster runner1 who is
 unrighteousness1 has overtaken them4   
,and now ,i depart hence condemned by   
you to suffer the penalty of            
death1--they too go their ways condemned
 by the truth to suffer the penalty of  
villainy and wrong2 and ,i must abide by
 my award--let them abide by theirs4 ,i 
suppose that these things may be        

regarded as fated1--and ,i think that   
they are well4  ,and now1 ,o men who    
have condemned me1 ,i would fain        
prophesy to you2 for ,i am about to die1
 and in the hour of death men are gifted
 with prophetic power4 ,and ,i prophesy 
to you who are my murderers1 that       
immediately after my departure          
punishment far heavier than you have    
inflicted on me will surely await you4  
,me you have killed because you wanted  
to escape the accuser1 and not to give  
an account of your lives4 ,but that will
 not be as you suppose3 far otherwise4  
,for ,i say that there will be more     
accusers of you than there are now2     
accusers whom hitherto ,i have          
restrained3 and as they are younger they
 will be more inconsiderate with you1   
and you will be more offended at them4  
,if you think that by killing men you   
can prevent some one from censuring your
 evil lives1 you are mistaken2 that is  
not a way of escape which is either     
possible or honourable2 the easiest and 

the noblest way is not to be disabling  
others1 but to be improving yourselves4 
,this is the prophecy which ,i utter    
before my departure to the judges who   
have condemned me4  ,friends1 who would 
have acquitted me1 ,i would like also to
 talk with you about the thing which has
 come to pass1 while the magistrates are
 busy1 and before ,i go to the place at 
which ,i must die4 ,stay then a little1 
for we may as well talk with one another
 while there is time4 ,you are my       
friends1 and ,i should like to show you 
the meaning of this event which has     
happened to me4 ,o my judges--for you ,i
 may truly call judges--,i should like  
to tell you of a wonderful circumstance4
 ,hitherto the divine faculty of which  
the internal oracle is the source has   
constantly been in the habit of opposing
 me even about trifles1 if ,i was going 
to make a slip or error in any matter2  
and now as you see there has come upon  
me that which may be thought1 and is    
generally believed to be1 the last and  

worst evil4 ,but the oracle made no sign
 of opposition1 either when ,i was      
leaving my house in the morning1 or when
 ,i was on my way to the court1 or while
 ,i was speaking1 at anything which ,i  
was going to say2 and yet ,i have often 
been stopped in the middle of a speech1 
but now in nothing ,i either said or did
 touching the matter in hand has the    
oracle opposed me4 ,what do ,i take to  
be the explanation of this silence8 ,i  
will tell you4 ,it is an intimation that
 what has happened to me is a good1 and 
that those of us who think that death is
 an evil are in error4 ,for the         
customary sign would surely have opposed
 me had ,i been going to evil and not to
 good4  ,let us reflect in another way1 
and we shall see that there is great    
reason to hope that death is a good2 for
 one of two things--either death is a   
state of nothingness and utter          
unconsciousness1 or1 as men say1 there  
is a change and migration of the soul   
from this world to another4 ,now if you 

suppose that there is no consciousness1 
but a sleep like the sleep of him who is
 undisturbed even by dreams1 death will 
be an unspeakable gain4 ,for if a person
 were to select the night in which his  
sleep was undisturbed even by dreams1   
and were to compare with this the other 
days and nights of his life1 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   
one1 ,i think that any man1 ,i will not 
say a private man1 but even the great   
king will not find many such days or    
nights1 when compared with the others4  
,now if death be of such a nature1 ,i   
say that to die is gain2 for eternity is
 then only a single night4 ,but if death
 is the journey to another place1 and   
there1 as men say1 all the dead abide1  
what good1 ,o my friends and judges1 can
 be greater than this8 ,if indeed when  
the pilgrim arrives in the world below1 
he is delivered from the professors of  
justice in this world1 and finds the    

true judges who are said to give        
judgment there1 ,minos and ,rhadamanthus
 and ,aeacus and ,triptolemus1 and other
 sons of ,god who were righteous in     
their own life1 that pilgrimage will be 
worth making4 ,what would not a man give
 if he might converse with ,orpheus and 
,musaeus and ,hesiod and ,homer8 ,nay1  
if this be true1 let me die again and   
again4 ,i myself1 too1 shall have a     
wonderful interest in there meeting and 
conversing with ,palamedes1 and ,ajax   
the son of ,telamon1 and any other      
ancient hero who has suffered death     
through an unjust judgment2 and there   
will be no small pleasure1 as ,i think1 
in comparing my own sufferings with     
theirs4 ,above all1 ,i shall then be    
able to continue my search into true and
 false knowledge2 as in this world1 so  
also in the next2 and ,i shall find out 
who is wise1 and who pretends to be     
wise1 and is not4 ,what would not a man 
give1 ,o judges1 to be able to examine  
the leader of the great ,trojan         

expedition2 or ,odysseus or ,sisyphus1  
or numberless others1 men and women too6
 ,what infinite delight would there be  
in conversing with them and asking them 
questions6 ,in another world they do not
 put a man to death for asking          
questions3 assuredly not4 ,for besides  
being happier than we are1 they will be 
immortal1 if what is said is true4      
,wherefore1 ,o judges1 be of good cheer 
about death1 and know of a certainty1   
that no evil can happen to a good man1  
either in life or after death4 ,he and  
his are not neglected by the gods2 nor  
has my own approaching end happened by  
mere chance4 ,but ,i see clearly that   
the time had arrived when it was better 
for me to die and be released from      
trouble2 wherefore the oracle gave no   
sign4 ,for which reason1 also1 ,i am not
 angry with my condemners1 or with my   
accusers2 they have done me no harm1    
although they did not mean to do me any 
good2 and for this ,i may gently blame  
them4  ,still ,i have a favour to ask of

 them4 ,when my sons are grown up1 ,i   
would ask you1 ,o my friends1 to punish 
them2 and ,i would have you trouble     
them1 as ,i have troubled you1 if they  
seem to care about riches1 or anything1 
more than about virtue2 or if they      
pretend to be something when they are   
really nothing1--then reprove them1 as  
,i have reproved you1 for not caring    
about that for which they ought to care1
 and thinking that they are something   
when they are really nothing4 ,and if   
you do this1 both ,i and my sons will   
have received justice at your hands4    
,the hour of departure has arrived1 and 
we go our ways--,i to die1 and you to   
live4 ,which is better ,god only knows4