Part 27 (1/2)
”Yes, I know.”
”Well, among other vile things that they did was this, that they put to death many excellent men whom they conceived to be enemies to themselves. Then Socrates, in that free way of his, said, 'If a herdsman were so to manage his herd that the cattle became fewer and not more, men would consider him a bad herdsman. Still more would they consider him to be a bad ruler of a city who should so manage it that the citizens became not more but less numerous.' This being reported to Critias, who was a chief among the Thirty, he sent for Socrates, and said to him, 'There is a law that no man shall teach or use the art of words.' Socrates said, 'Mean you by this, the art of words rightly spoken or the art of words wrongly spoken?' On this, one Charicles, who was a colleague of Critias, and was standing by him, broke in violently: 'Since, Socrates, you find it so hard to understand an altogether easy thing, take this as a plain rule, that you are not to talk with young men at all.' 'Truly I desire to obey the law,' said Socrates; 'tell me then what you mean by young men. How young? Up to what age?' Charicles said, 'Up to thirty, at which age men are able to take part in affairs of the State.' 'But,' said Socrates, 'if I desire to buy a thing of a man who is under thirty, is it permitted me to ask what it costs?'
'Yes,' said Charicles, 'you may say so much.' 'And if a man under thirty asks me where Critias lives or Charicles lives, may I answer him?' 'Yes, you may answer such questions,' said Charicles. Then Critias broke in, 'But you must not talk about blacksmiths and coppersmiths and tanners; and indeed you have worn these themes pretty well threadbare by this time.' 'Nor about righteousness and wickedness and such things, I suppose,' said Socrates. 'No, indeed, nor about herdsmen. If you speak of herdsmen and of the herd being diminished, take care that it be not diminished by one more, even by you.'”
Callias listened with delight. ”Oh, how like him!” he cried.
”Yes,” replied Crito, ”like him indeed, and truly admirable. But such things do not please those to whom they are spoken, especially do not please men in power. Then consider the number of empty-headed, ignorant fellows whose vanity and conceit he exposed every day by his pitiless questioning. There was not a pretentious fool in Athens whom he had not at some time or other held up to ridicule.”
”And they deserved it richly,” said Callias.
”Yes,” replied the other, ”but I have never found that a man liked punishment more because he knew that he deserved it. So you see that the city was full of his enemies. And there were some honest men who really believed that he did harm by his teaching. What with knaves whom he opposed with all his might, and fools whom he exposed, and right-minded, wrong-headed men whom he could not help offending, there was a very formidable host arrayed against him.”
”I see,” said Callias. ”But they must have had some pretext, they could not put any of the things you have been speaking about into a formal charge. Tell me, what did they accuse him of?”
”Oh, it was the old story, treason and blasphemy. Men who would have sold their country for a quarter of a talent, men who believe in no other G.o.ds than their own l.u.s.ts, were loud in proclaiming that Socrates had ruined the State, and was teaching the young not to wors.h.i.+p the G.o.ds.”
”Good heavens!” cried Callias, ”how dared they utter such lies? A better patriot, a truer wors.h.i.+pper of the G.o.ds never lived.”
”You are right; yet, these were the charges against him, these and other things equally absurd, as that he taught the young to despise their fathers and to think meanly of all their relatives and friends, as if he himself were the only friend that was worth having; that he perverted words from Homer and the old poets to a bad sense, making them mean that no work was disgraceful so that it brought in gain, and that it was lawful for kings and n.o.bles to beat the common people[85]--these were the charges that they brought against him. And then they added the accusation that Critias and Alcibiades who had done great harm to Athens had both been disciples of his.”
”But tell me,” said Callias, ”how did these liars and villains proceed?
And first, who were they? Who took the lead?”
”One Meletus was the chief.”
”What! The foolish poet whom every one laughs at?”
”Yes, the very same. He represented the poets. There was one Lycon, of whom, I suppose, you never heard, who represented the public speakers, and Anytus, one of those who came back with Thrasybulus. He had been badly treated, it is true, banished without any good reason, but only a madman could have supposed that Socrates had had anything to do with it.
These three brought the indictment. It was in these words:--
”'Socrates is guilty of a crime. He does not acknowledge the G.o.ds whom the State acknowledges, and he introduces other and new G.o.ds. He is also guilty of corrupting the youth. The penalty--death.'”
”But such charges hardly needed a defence. Is it possible that a number of Athenian judges found a verdict of guilty?”
”It was so indeed,” said Crito, ”and I am not sure that you will be altogether surprised when you hear what the accused said in his own defence. I am an old man now, and have watched the courts now for many years; and I have seen not a few men who might have escaped but for what they said in their own behalf. Now I can't tell you all that Socrates said, or even the greater part of it. Our friend Plato is going to set it forth regularly in a book that he is writing. But I can tell you enough to make you see what I mean.
”After he had dealt with various other matters--those calumnies for instance, that Aristophanes set afloat about him now more than thirty years ago--he went on: 'Some years ago, men of Athens, a certain Chaerephon--you know him; some of you went into exile along with him--having been my companion from my youth up, ventured to go to Delphi, and to propose this question to the G.o.d: ”Is there any man wiser than Socrates?” The Pythia[86] made reply, ”There is none wiser than he.” When I heard this I said to myself, what can the G.o.d mean? He cannot tell a lie, yet I am not conscious to myself of possessing any kind of wisdom. So at last I devised this plan. I went to one of the men who are reckoned wise, thinking thus to test the oracle, so that I might say, here at least is one that is wiser than I. Now when I came to examine this man--he was one of our statesmen, men of Athens,--I found that though he was accounted wise by many and especially by himself, he was not wise in reality. But in vain I tried to convince him, and I even became odious to him and to many others who were present and admired him. Then I thought to myself, I am at least wiser than this man, for he not knowing, thinks that he knows, while I at least know that I do not know. After this, I went to the poets, tragic, lyrical, and others, and taking to them poems which they had written, asked of them what they meant thereby. And I found that almost always those that had not written these things knew better what they meant than the authors. So I concluded that these also were not wise. And at last I went to the artisans, knowing that they were acquainted with many things of which I knew nothing. And this, indeed, I found to be the case. But I also found that, because they had mastered their own art, each thought himself very wise in other things, things, too, of the greatest importance, and that this self-conceit spoilt their wisdom. These also seemed to be less wise than myself. But all the time that I was doing this I knew that I was making myself hateful to many, yet, because I was bound to obey the G.o.d as best I could, I did not desist.
”'It is true also that many young men hearing me thus questioning others have found delight in this employment and have learnt to imitate me. And they have obtained this result: they have found many persons who think that they know much but in reality know nothing. But they who are thus discovered are irritated, not so much against their questioners, but against me whom they suppose to have taught them this habit. Hence comes this fable of a certain wicked Socrates who is said to corrupt the young men.
”'Nevertheless, O men of Athens, if you this day release me, I shall not therefore cease to do that which, as I conceive, the G.o.d commands. I shall go about the city seeking wisdom; nor shall I cease to say to such as come in my way, My friend, can you, being a citizen of Athens, the most famous city of Greece, help being ashamed if you make riches or rank your highest aim, and care not for that which is indeed the greatest good? This shall I still do to young or old, for it is this that the G.o.d orders me to do!'”
Crito paused in his story.
”Magnificent!” cried Callias, ”but how did the judges take it? It was a downright defiance of them.”
”Certainly it was, and so they thought it. There was a tremendous uproar. When the noise had ceased, he began again:--'Do not clamor against me, men of Athens, but hear me patiently; 'tis indeed for your own good that you should. For be a.s.sured that putting me to death, you will harm yourselves rather than me. For, having rid yourselves of me, you will not easily find any one who will do for you the office that I have done, which has been, I take it, that of a rider upon a horse of good breed, indeed, and strong, but needing the spur. Such a rider have I been to the city, sitting close and exciting you continually by persuasion and reproach. You will not easily find another like me; and if you are angry with me, yet remember that persons awakened out of sleep are angry with the man who rouses them, though it may be to the saving of their lives. And remember this too: what I have done, I have done without pay; no one can bring up this against me that I have done anything for gain. If you ask a proof, look at my poverty--that is proof enough.
”'And if any one ask me why I go about meddling with every body and giving them advice, and yet never come forward and give any advice about matters of state, I make him this answer: There is a voice within me, of which Meletus idly speaks as if it were another G.o.d, which never indeed urges me to do anything, but often warns me against doing this or that.
This same voice has often warned me against taking part in public affairs, and rightly so indeed, for be a.s.sured that if I had so taken part, I should long ago have perished. And do not be offended if I tell you the truth. No man can be safe who opposes things wrong and illegal that are done by the people. If he would live, even but for a short time, he must keep to a private station.