apology

Overview and Historical Context of the Apology

• Definition and Tone: The word "apology" is a transliteration of the Greek word "apologia," which translates to "defense." Socrates' speech is not an apology in the modern sense; it is a firm defense and contains no expressions of remorse.
• Historicity:
  • The Apology is presented as a record of the actual speech Socrates delivered in his defense at his trial.
  • While ancients did not prioritize historical accuracy in the modern sense, Plato was present at the trial (references $34\text{a}$, $38\text{b}$).
  • The dialogue was likely written shortly after the event ($399\text{ BCE}$), meaning many Athenians would have remembered the actual proceedings.
  • Scholars believe the main arguments and general tone are faithful to the historical Socrates, though the specific beauty of the language is attributed to Plato.
• Athenian Legal Procedure:
  • Juries were very large; Socrates was judged by a body of $501$ men.
  • The jury functioned as both jury and judge, deciding both the conviction and the sentence.
  • Sentencing Process: After a conviction, the prosecutor assessed a penalty, followed by a counter-assessment by the defendant. The jury then voted between these two options. This system was designed to encourage moderate proposals from both sides.
• Structure of the Text: The Apology is divided into three parts:
  1. The main speech of defense ($17\text{a}$–$35\text{d}$).
  2. The counter-assessment of the penalty ($35\text{e}$–$38\text{b}$).
  3. Final words to the jury after the death sentence ($38\text{c}$–$42\text{a}$).

Introduction to the Defense: Truth vs. Persuasion

• The Accusers' Strategy: Socrates opens by noting how persuasive his accusers were, to the point that he almost lost himself. However, he asserts that "hardly anything of what they said is true."
• The Warning Against Eloquence: His accusers warned the jury not to be deceived by Socrates' "accomplished speaking." Socrates refutes this, stating he is not an accomplished speaker unless they define such a person as one who "speaks the truth."
• Socrates' Style of Speech:
  • Socrates requests that the jury not be surprised by his language. He will not use "embroidered and stylized phrases" or a prepared speech.
  • He will speak "at random" and use the first words that come to mind, relying on the justice of his cause.
  • He asks to use the same language he employs in the marketplace by the bankers' tables, as he is $70\text{ years old}$ and this is his first appearance in a law court.
  • He identifies himself as a "stranger" to the court's manner of speaking and asks to be judged solely on whether what he says is just.

The Two Sets of Accusers

• Classification: Socrates identifies two groups of accusers: the "first" (earlier) accusers and the "later" (more recent) accusers.
• The Earlier Accusers:
  • Socrates fears these more because they have influenced the jurors since childhood.
  • The Rumors: They claimed Socrates is a "wise man" who studies "all things in the sky and below the earth" and "makes the worse argument the stronger."
  • The Danger of the Rumor: These accusations often lead people to believe that such students do not believe in the gods.
  • Anonymity: Most of these accusers are anonymous, except for the writer of comedies, Aristophanes, who depicted Socrates "walking on air" in his play The Clouds ($423\text{ BCE}$).
• Refutation of Natural Philosophy and Sophistry:
  • Socrates denies having any knowledge of things in the sky or below the earth.
  • He denies being a teacher who charges a fee. He mentions well-known Sophists like Gorgias of Leontini, Prodicus of Ceos, and Hippias of Elis, who charge for instruction in human and social excellence.
  • He recounts a conversation with Callias, son of Hipponicus, who told him that Evenus of Paros charges $5\text{ minas}$ ($500\text{ drachmas}$) to teach excellence. Socrates admits he possesses no such knowledge.

The Origin of the Slander: The Oracle of Delphi

• Chaerephon's Question: Chaerephon, a deceased friend of Socrates, once went to Delphi and asked the oracle if any man was wiser than Socrates. The Pythian priestess replied that no one was.
• Socrates' Puzzle: Knowing he had no wisdom, Socrates sought to understand the god's meaning by examining those reputed to be wise.
• The Investigation of Wisdom:
  • Politicians: Socrates found that they appeared wise to many and especially to themselves, but lacked true knowledge. When Socrates tried to show them they were not wise, he became unpopular.
  • Poets: He questioned writers of tragedies and dithyrambs about their works. He concluded they compose not by knowledge but by "inborn talent and inspiration," like seers. They also wrongly believed their poetic talent made them wise in other important matters.
  • Craftsmen: They did possess knowledge Socrates lacked regarding their crafts. However, like the poets, their success in their craft led them to believe they were wise in "other most important pursuits," which overshadowed their actual wisdom.
• Conclusion on Human Wisdom: Socrates concluded that the god alone is wise. The oracle meant that "human wisdom is worth little or nothing." Socrates is used as an example; the wisest human is the one who understands, like Socrates, that his wisdom is worthless.
• Socrates' Mission: He continues this investigation at the god's bidding, showing those who think they are wise that they are not. This has led to his great poverty ($0\text{ income}$) and extreme unpopularity.

Cross-Examination of Meletus

• Section on Corruption of the Young:
  • Socrates accuses Meletus of being "frivolous with serious matters" by bringing people to court over things he has never cared about.
  • Question: Who improves the young? Meletus' initial answer is "the laws," then he identifies the jurymen, the audience, the Councillors, and the members of the assembly. Meletus claims all Athenians improve the young except Socrates.
  • Analogy of the Horses: Socrates argues that for horses, only one or a few experts (horse breeders) improve them, while the majority of people corrupt them through use. He suggests the same is true for the youth.
  • Argument on Harm: Socrates asks if it is better to live among good or wicked citizens. Meletus agrees that wicked people harm their neighbors. Socrates argues that if he were to deliberately make his associates wicked, he would risk being harmed by them; therefore, he either does not corrupt them or does so unwillingly. If unwilling, the law requires instruction, not punishment.
• Section on Atheism:
  • Meletus' deposition claims Socrates does not believe in the gods of the city but in "other new spiritual things."
  • Meletus clarifies he thinks Socrates is a total atheist who believes the sun is stone and the moon is earth (attributing theories of Anaxagoras of Clazomenae to Socrates).
  • The Logical Contradiction: Socrates argues that if he believes in "spiritual things" (daimonia), he must believe in spirits (daimones). Since spirits are either gods or the children of gods (by nymphs or other mothers), it is impossible to believe in spirits without believing in gods. Therefore, Meletus' charge that Socrates believes in spirits but not gods is a "riddle" and a self-contradiction.

Socrates’ Defense of His Way of Life

• The Priority of Virtue over Life: Socrates compares himself to the heroes at Troy, specifically Achilles (son of Thetis). Achilles chose to avenge Patroclus and die rather than live in disgrace as a coward.
• Military Duty vs. Divine Duty:
  • Socrates remained at his post during the battles of Potidaea, Amphipolis, and Delium when ordered by elected generals.
  • He argues it would be a "dreadful thing" to abandon his post now when the god has ordered him to live the life of a philosopher.
  • Definition of Fear of Death: Fearing death is thinking one knows what one does not know. Death may be the greatest blessing, yet men fear it as the greatest evil.
• Refusal to Cease Philosophy: If the jury offered to acquit him on the condition that he stop practicing philosophy, Socrates states: "Men of Athens, I shall obey the god rather than you."
  • He will continue to exhort citizens to care for the state of their soul rather than wealth or reputation.
  • The Value of Excellence: He maintains that "wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men."
• The Gadfly Metaphor: Socrates describes himself as a "gadfly" attached to the city by the god. The city is like a "great and noble horse" that has become sluggish due to its size and needs to be stirred up. He warns that if they kill him, they will not easily find another like him and may "sleep on for the rest of your days."
• Evidence of Sincerity: Socrates points to his poverty as a "convincing witness" that he has never charged a fee for his service to the god.

Why Socrates Avoided Public Life

• The Divine Sign (Daimonion): Since childhood, Socrates has experienced a "voice" that turns him away from certain actions but never encourages them. This sign prevented him from entering politics.
• The Danger of Public Life: He argues that a man who genuinely fights for justice in a democracy would have died long ago. He cites two examples of his own resistance:
  1. The Trial of the Ten Generals ($406\text{ BCE}$): As a member of the Council (tribe Antiochis presiding), he was the only member to oppose the illegal trial of the generals from the battle of Arginusae as a body.
  2. The Rule of the Thirty ($404\text{ BCE}$): The oligarchy ordered him and four others to bring Leon from Salamis for execution. While the others obeyed, Socrates went home, risking death to avoid committing an unjust act.

Questions & Discussion

• Socrates' Pupils: Socrates denies being a teacher. He says he is equally ready to question the rich and the poor for free. He is not responsible for the later conduct of those who listen to him (e.g., Critobulus, Aeschines, Epigenes, Adeimantus, Apollodorus).
• Refusal of Appeals to Pity:
  • Socrates has three sons (one adolescent, two children) but refuses to bring them into court to beg for his life.
  • He argues that such displays are a disgrace to the city and encourage the jury to violate their oath to judge according to the law, not as a favor.

The Verdict and Penalty Phase

• The Vote: Socrates is surprised by how narrow the margin was. A switch of only $30\text{ votes}$ would have resulted in his acquittal.
• Meletus’ Proposal: Death.
• Socrates’ Counter-Proposal:
  • Based on his service to the city, Socrates initially suggests he deserves to be fed in the Prytaneum (a magistrate's hall usually reserved for Olympian victors).
  • He rejects imprisonment and exile (arguing he would be driven from one city to another as the young men would follow him).
  • He famously states that "the unexamined life is not worth living for men."
  • Final Assessment: He offers to pay $1\text{ mina}$ of silver (all he has), but at the urging of Plato, Crito, Critobulus, and Apollodorus, he raises the offer to $30\text{ minas}$, for which they will stand surety.

Final Words after the Death Sentence

• Vengeance on the Accusers: Socrates prophesies that after his death, more people (the younger students he held back) will test the Athenians and reproach them for their lives.
• The Meaning of the Divine Sign: He notes that his divine sign never opposed him during the trial, meaning that what has happened is likely a "good thing."
• Reflections on Death: Socrates posits that death is one of two things:
  1. Dreamless Sleep: A complete lack of perception, which would be a "great advantage" and more pleasant than almost any day of life.
  2. A Journey to Hades: A relocation of the soul where one can meet true judges (Minos, Rhadamanthus, Aeacus, Triptolemus) and converse with heroes (Orpheus, Musaeus, Hesiod, Homer, Palamedes, Ajax, Odysseus, Sisyphus).
• Conclusion: "A good man cannot be harmed either in life or in death, and his affairs are not neglected by the gods."
• Final Request: He asks that when his sons grow up, the Athenians should punish them if they care for money more than virtue or think they are somebody when they are nobody.
• Parting Statement: "Now the hour to part has come. I go to die, you go to live. Which of us goes to the better lot is known to no one, except the god."