Phaedrus — Plato

p. 19tribe, had the presidency at the trial of the generals who had not taken up the bodies of the slain after the battle of Arginusae ; ? and you proposed to try them all together, which was illegal, as you all thought afterwards ; but at the time I was the only one of the prytanes who was opposed to the illegality, and I gave my vote against you ; and when the orators threatened to impeach and arrest me, and have me taken away, and you called and shouted, I made up my mind that I would run the risk, having law and justice with me, rather than take part in your injustice because I feared imprisonment and death.

This happened in the days of the democracy. But when the oligarchy of the Thirty ^^ was in power, they sent for me and four others into the rotunda,® and bade us bring Leon the Salami nian from Salamis,® as they wanted to execute him.

This was a specimen of the sort of commands which they were always giving with the view of implicating as many as possible in their crimes ; and then I showed, » not in word only but in deed,_that, if I may be allowed to use 'such' an expression, I cared not a straw for death, and that my only fear was the fear of doing an unrighteous or unholy thing.

For the strong arm of that oppressive power did not frighten me into doing wrong; each, was recognized. Each body of ten presided in the senate for one period of seven days, drawing lots every day among their number for a new chairman."— Grote's History of Greece, cnap. xxxi.

Part of the business of the senate was to prepare resolutions to be laid before the general assembly of all the citizens, which, in cases like the one referred to by Socrates, had, with the senate, the power of final decision. •• Arginusae (Sr'jr-nu'se) : a naval battle of the Poloponnesian War, occurring in 406 B.C. Although victorious, the Athenian generals left their dead unburied and abandoned the living on the wrecked vessels.

This neglect and cruelty aroused great indignation at Athens. The generals were illegally tried, conaemned and executed. *• So intimidated were the Prytanes by the incensed manifestations of the assembly that all of them, except one, relinquished their opposition and agreed to put the question " [as to the guilt and condemnation of the generals in a body].

The single obstinate Prytanis, whose refusal no menace could subdue, was a man whose name we read with peculiar interest, and in whom an impregnable adherence to law and duty was only one among many other titles to reverence. It was the philosopher Socrates ; on this trying occasion, once throughout a life of seventy years, discharging a political omce. among the fifty senators taken bv lot from the tribe Antiochus.

Socrates could not be induced to withdraw his protest, so that the question was ultimately put by the remaining Prytanes without his concurrence." — Grote's History of Qreece IIL, chap. Ixiv. " See Apology, note 14. " The omce of the Prytanes at the Prytaneum (pryt'a-ne'um) where they also dined at public cost. See Apology, note 43. » ** Salamis (siU'a-mfs) : an island of the i£gean, near Athens.

p. 20and when we came out of the rotunda the other four went to Salamis and fetched Leon, but I went quietly home. For which I might have lost ray life, had not the power of the Thirty shortly afterwards come to an end.

And to this many will witness. , Now do you really imagine that I could have survived all these years, if I had led a public life, supposing that like a good man I had always supported the right and had made justice, as I ought, the first thing ? No indeed, men of Athens, neither I nor any other.

But I have been always the same in all ^ my actions, public as well as private, and never have I yielded any base compliance to those who are slanderously . termed my disciples,** or to any other. For the truth is that I > I have no regular disciples:' but if any one likes to come and hear me while I aiu pursuing my mission, whether he be young ■ or old, he may freely come.

Nor do I converse with those who ' pay only, and not with those who do not pay ; but any one, whether he be rich or poor, may ask and answer me and listen to my words ; and whether he turns out to be a bad man or a good one, that cannot be justly laid to my charge, as I never taught him anything.

And if any one says that he has ever learned or heard anything from me in private which all the world has not heard, I should like you to know that he is speaking an untruth. But I shall be asked. Why do people delight in continually conversing with you? I have told you already, Athenians, the whole truth about this : they like to hear the cross-examination of the pretenders to wisdom ; there is amusement in this.

And this is a duty which the God has imposed upon_me, as I am assured by oracles, visions, and in every sort of way in which the will of divine power was ever signified to any one. This is true, O Athenians ; or, if not true, would be soon refuted.

For if I am really corrupting the youth, and have corrupted , some of them already, those of them who have grown up and [ have become sensible that I gave them bad advice in the days ' of their youth should come forward as accusers and take their revenge ; and if they do not like to come themselves, some of ** Probably an allusion to Critias, the most unscrupulous and most hated of the Thirty Tyrants, and Alcibiades, a corrupt genera] and politician, both of whom had in youth associated with Socrates, and for whose evil doing he was sometimes held responsible. See Protagoras, note i ; Symposium, axa and following.

p. 21their relatives, fathers, brothers, or other kinsmen, should say what evil their families suffered at my hands. Now is their time. Many of them I see in the court. There is Crito,^ who is of the same age and of the same deme ^ with myself ; and there is Critobulus ^ his son, whom I also see.

Then again there is Lysanias of Sphettus, who is the father of iEschines, — he is present ; and also there is Antiphon of Cephisus, who is the father of Epigenes ; and there are the brothers of several who have associated with me.

There is Nicostratus the son of Theosdotides, and the brother of Theodotus (now Theodotus himself is dead, and therefore he, at any rate, will not seek to stop him) ; and there is Paralus the son of Demodocus, who had a brother Theages, and Adeimantus the son of Ariston, whose brother Plato is present; and iEantodorus, ^^ who is the brother of ApoUodorus, whom I also see.

I might mention a great many others, any of whom Meletus should have produced as witnesses in the course of his speech ; and let him still produce them, if he has forgotten ; I will make way for him. And let him say, if he has any testimony of the sort which he can produce. Nay, Athenians, the very opposite is the truth.

For all these are ready to witness on behalf of the corrupter, of the destroyer of their kindred, as Meletus and Anytus call me ; not the corrupted youth only, — there might have been a motive for that, — but their uncorrupted elder relatives. Why should they too support me with their testimony ? Why, indeed, except for the sake of truth and justice, and because they know that I am speaking the truth, and that Meletus is lying.

Well, Athenians, this and the like of this is nearly all the defense which I have to offer. Yet a word more. Perhaps *» Crito (kri'tS) : a wealthy Athenian, the devoted friend and disciple of Socrates. He is said to have relieved Socrates from the necessity of manual labor. He offered Socrates means of escape from prison. He appears in the Phaedo.

A dialogue of Plato bears his name. ** Each of the ten tribes of Attica comprised a certain number of demes (d€mz) or administrative districts, something like our townships, lliey were named after persons or places.

«» Critobulus (Icrif o-bulus) ; Lysanias (ly-sS'nf-as) ; Sphettus (sfSt'tOs) ; iGschines (SsTcr-nez) ; Antiphon (Sn'tr-fon) ; Cephisus (se-fi'sus) ; Epigenes (e-pO'e-ne«) ; Nicostratus (ni-c6s'tra-tus) ; Theosdotides (the-6s'd6-tl'dez) ; Theodotus (the-6d'o-tus) ; Paralus (pSr'a-lus) ; Demodocus (de-m5d'o-cus) ; Theages (the-fl^ez) ; Adeimantus (Sd'i-mSn'tus) ; Ariston (a-rls'ton) ; JEantodorus (€-in'tft-dyrus) ; ApoUodorus (a-p61'15-d6'rus).

Of these men iEschines and Epigenes were present at the death of Socrates ; See Phaedo, 59. Adeimantus appears in the Republic.