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Article THE DEFENCE OF SOCRATES. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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The Defence Of Socrates.
the treasury benches and elsewhere , that as many of you as arc old enough to recollect the circumstance , will not marvel , nor be astonished at it . Thus , then , the matter rests . Although more than seventy years of age , I have at once , without hesitation , repaired to this tribunal , to the more modern mode of pleading , at which I am obviously a stranger ; and that such is the truthyou will quickldiscover b speaking to
, y y my you iu the dialect and style in which I was educated . Indeed , I must reiterate my request—I think with justice—that you will not regard so much my manner of address as the matter it refers to—for , perhaps , one part may make a good , another a bad impression—and bend your attention to the fact , whether what I say is just or not . This , in short , is the duty of a iudare : and the office of an nrat . ni- io tn snpnk rbo rmrli
In the first place , then , Athenians , I am in duty bound , in my defence , to reply to the charges which form , as it were , the preamble of the allegation preferred by my accusers , and also to them personally , as they take precedency . Afterwards , I will direct my attention to the subsequent count , and to the more recent promoters of the prosecution . Many of my accusers are members of your own body , and have long , even for a duration of yearsco-operated with and of whom I
, you , entertain greater apprehensions than of those persons connected with Augtus * ( although , to be sure , they are , to a certain extent , to be dreaded ) ; but neither of them have asserted the truth . Athenians ! . it is those individuals who have associated with many of you from childhood
, and from that intimacy have attained sufficient influence to induce you to entertain so ridiculous an allegation against my reputation as , " to wit , there is a certain man whose name is Socrates , a philosopher , one who speculates on things of a divine nature , and searches into all terrestrial matter , and , further , by his eloquence makes the worst appear the better cause ;"—it is of such persons that 1 entertain the most uneasy apprehensions . It is those men , who , with credulous i
gnorance , spread that absurd report , that are the accusers whom I most sensibly dread . For every bigot who listened to them supposes , because 1 exercised my talents in the investigation of such scientific subjects , that I do not reverence the gods . In addition , my accusers are many in number , and they have been allowed to impeach me for a considerable length of time ; and , what is worse , they first broached the matter at a period when most of you were children
, or mere boys , and therefore likely to yield credit to every silly report , and liable to have your minds occupied by an inveterate prejudice ; and , for this reason , I have no one to defend me against their vexatious charges .
But of the whole proceeding , the most unreasonable part t have to complain of is , that it is not permitted me either to see them , or declare the names of my accusers ; lest , perhaps , one of them , peradventure , should chance to be Aristophanes , the comic poet , whose testimony would not probably add dignity enough to a charge against myself , if the fact were publicly known . Why , all who have taken a conspicuous part in this prosecution , and have thus far persuaded you to advance in die affair , driven onward by envy and malice , and shutting their ears
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Defence Of Socrates.
the treasury benches and elsewhere , that as many of you as arc old enough to recollect the circumstance , will not marvel , nor be astonished at it . Thus , then , the matter rests . Although more than seventy years of age , I have at once , without hesitation , repaired to this tribunal , to the more modern mode of pleading , at which I am obviously a stranger ; and that such is the truthyou will quickldiscover b speaking to
, y y my you iu the dialect and style in which I was educated . Indeed , I must reiterate my request—I think with justice—that you will not regard so much my manner of address as the matter it refers to—for , perhaps , one part may make a good , another a bad impression—and bend your attention to the fact , whether what I say is just or not . This , in short , is the duty of a iudare : and the office of an nrat . ni- io tn snpnk rbo rmrli
In the first place , then , Athenians , I am in duty bound , in my defence , to reply to the charges which form , as it were , the preamble of the allegation preferred by my accusers , and also to them personally , as they take precedency . Afterwards , I will direct my attention to the subsequent count , and to the more recent promoters of the prosecution . Many of my accusers are members of your own body , and have long , even for a duration of yearsco-operated with and of whom I
, you , entertain greater apprehensions than of those persons connected with Augtus * ( although , to be sure , they are , to a certain extent , to be dreaded ) ; but neither of them have asserted the truth . Athenians ! . it is those individuals who have associated with many of you from childhood
, and from that intimacy have attained sufficient influence to induce you to entertain so ridiculous an allegation against my reputation as , " to wit , there is a certain man whose name is Socrates , a philosopher , one who speculates on things of a divine nature , and searches into all terrestrial matter , and , further , by his eloquence makes the worst appear the better cause ;"—it is of such persons that 1 entertain the most uneasy apprehensions . It is those men , who , with credulous i
gnorance , spread that absurd report , that are the accusers whom I most sensibly dread . For every bigot who listened to them supposes , because 1 exercised my talents in the investigation of such scientific subjects , that I do not reverence the gods . In addition , my accusers are many in number , and they have been allowed to impeach me for a considerable length of time ; and , what is worse , they first broached the matter at a period when most of you were children
, or mere boys , and therefore likely to yield credit to every silly report , and liable to have your minds occupied by an inveterate prejudice ; and , for this reason , I have no one to defend me against their vexatious charges .
But of the whole proceeding , the most unreasonable part t have to complain of is , that it is not permitted me either to see them , or declare the names of my accusers ; lest , perhaps , one of them , peradventure , should chance to be Aristophanes , the comic poet , whose testimony would not probably add dignity enough to a charge against myself , if the fact were publicly known . Why , all who have taken a conspicuous part in this prosecution , and have thus far persuaded you to advance in die affair , driven onward by envy and malice , and shutting their ears