Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates | Page 5

I shall adduce to you the god at Delphi as a witness of my
wisdom, if I have any, and of what it is. You doubtless know Chærepho:
he was my associate from youth, and the associate of most of you; he
accompanied you in your late exile, and returned with you. You know,
then, what kind of a man Chærepho was, how earnest in whatever he
undertook. Having once gone to Delphi, he ventured to make the
following inquiry of the oracle (and, as I said, O Athenians! do not cry
out), for he asked if there was any one wiser than I. The Pythian
thereupon answered that there was not one wiser; and of this, his
brother here will give you proofs, since he himself is dead.
6. Consider, then, why I mention these things: it is because I am going
to show you whence the calumny against me arose. For when I heard
this, I reasoned thus with myself, What does the god mean? What
enigma is this? For I am not conscious to myself that I am wise, either
much or little. What, then, does he mean by saying that I am the wisest?
For assuredly he does not speak falsely: that he could not do. And for a
long time I was in doubt what he meant; afterward, with considerable

difficulty, I had recourse to the following method of searching out his
meaning. I went to one of those who have the character of being wise,
thinking that there, if anywhere, I should confute the oracle, and show
in answer to the response that This man is wiser than I, though you
affirmed that I was the wisest. Having, then, examined this man (for
there is no occasion to mention his name; he was, however, one of our
great politicians, in examining whom I felt as I proceed to describe, O
Athenians!), having fallen into conversation with him, this man
appeared to be wise in the opinion of most other men, and especially in
his own opinion, though in fact he was not so. I thereupon endeavored
to show him that he fancied himself to be wise, but really was not.
Hence I became odious, both to him and to many others who were
present. When I left him, I reasoned thus with myself: I am wiser than
this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good;
but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing;
whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this
trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not
fancy I know what I do not know. After that I went to another who was
thought to be wiser than the former, and formed the very same opinion.
Hence I became odious to him and to many others.
7. After this I went to others in turn, perceiving indeed, and grieving
and alarmed, that I was making myself odious; however, it appeared
necessary to regard the oracle of the god as of the greatest moment, and
that, in order to discover its meaning, I must go to all who had the
reputation of possessing any knowledge. And by the dog, O Athenians!
for I must tell you the truth, I came to some such conclusion as this:
those who bore the highest reputation appeared to me to be most
deficient, in my researches in obedience to the god, and others who
were considered inferior more nearly approaching to the possession of
understanding. But I must relate to you my wandering, and the labors
which I underwent, in order that the oracle might prove incontrovertible.
For after the politicians I went to the poets, as well the tragic as the
dithyrambic and others, expecting that here I should in very fact find
myself more ignorant than they. Taking up, therefore, some of their
poems, which appeared to me most elaborately finished, I questioned
them as to their meaning, that at the same time I might learn something

from them. I am ashamed, O Athenians! to tell you the truth; however,
it must be told. For, in a word, almost all who were present could have
given a better account of them than those by whom they had been
composed. I soon discovered this, therefore, with regard to the poets,
that they do not effect their object by wisdom, but by a certain natural
inspiration, and under the influence of enthusiasm, like prophets and
seers; for these also say many fine things, but they understand nothing
that they say. The poets appeared to me to be affected in a similar
manner; and at the same time I perceived that they considered
themselves, on account of their