The Apology | Page 4

of any further joy in living? It may be, you know," he added, "that God out of his great kindness is intervening in my behalf[14] to suffer me to close my life in the ripeness of age, and by the gentlest of deaths. For if at this time sentence of death be passed upon me, it is plain I shall be allowed to meet an end which, in the opinion of those who have studied the matter, is not only the easiest in itself, but one which will cause the least trouble to one's friends,[15] while engendering the deepest longing for the departed. For of necessity he will only be thought of with regret and longing who leaves nothing behind unseemly or discomfortable to haunt the imagination of those beside him, but, sound of body, and his soul still capable of friendly repose, fades tranquilly away."
[1] Or, "Socrates' Defence before the Dicasts." For the title of the work see Grote, "H. G." viii. 641; Schneid. ap. L. Dindorf's note {pros tous dikastas}, ed. Ox. 1862, and Dindorf's own note; L. Schmitz, "On the Apology of Socrates, commonly attributed to Xenophon," "Class. Mus." v. 222 foll.; G. Sauppe, "Praef." vol. iii. p. 117, ed. ster.; J. J. Hartman, "An. Xen." p. 111 foll.; E. Richter, "Xen. Stud." pp. 61-96; M. Schanz, "Platos Apologia."
[2] Or possibly, "his deliberate behaviour."
[3] Or, "have succeeded in hitting off"; "done full justice to."
[4] Or, "the magniloquence of the master."
[5] Or, "so that according to them his lofty speech seems rather foolhardy."
[6] See "Mem." IV. viii. 4 foll.), a passage of which this is either an "ebauchement" or a "rechauffe."
[7] Or, "the philosopher's cast of thought."
[8] Dikasteries.
[9] {to daimonion}.
[10] {edein}, i.e. at any moment.
[11] For the phrase {iskhuros agamenos emauton}, cf. "Mem." II. i. 19.
[12] L. Dindorf cf. Dio Chrys. "Or." 28, {anagke gar auto en probainonti anti men kallistou aiskhrotero gignesthai k.t.l.}
[13] {apoteleisthai}. In "Mem." IV. viii. 8, {epiteleisthai}.
[14] Or, "God of his good favour vouchsafes as my protector that I should," etc. For {proxenei} cf. "Anab." VI. v. 14; Soph. "O. C." 465, and "O. T." 1483; and Prof. Jebb's notes ad loc. "the god's kindly offices grant to me that I should lose my life."
[15] Cf. Plat. "Phaed." 66.
"No doubt," he added, "the gods were right in opposing me at that time (touching the inquiry, what I was to say in my defence),[16] when you all thought the great thing was to discover some means of acquittal;[17] since, had I effected that, it is clear I should have prepared for myself, not that surcease from life which is in store for me anon, but to end my days wasted by disease, or by old age, on which a confluent stream of evil things most alien to joyousness converges."[18]
[16] {te tou logou episkepsei}. Cf. Plat. "Rep." 456 C.
[17] Or, if {emin}, transl. "we all were for thinking that the main thing was."
[18] Or, "that sink into which a confluent stream of evil humours discharge most incompatible with gaiety of mind." Schneid. conj. {eremon} sc. {geras}.
"No," he added, "God knows I shall display no ardent zeal to bring that about.[19] On the contrary, if by proclaiming all the blessings which I owe to god and men; if, by blazoning forth the opinion which I entertain with regard to myself, I end by wearying the court, even so will I choose death rather than supplicate in servile sort for leave to live a little longer merely to gain a life impoverished in place of death."
[19] Or, "I will give no helping hand to that."
It was in this determination, Hermogenes states, that, when the prosecution accused him of not recognising the gods recognised by the state, but introducing novel divinities and corrupting the young, Socrates stepped forward and said: "In the first place, sirs, I am at a loss to imagine on what ground[20] Meletus asserts that I do not recognise the gods which are recognised by the state, since, as far as sacrificing goes, the rest of the world who have chanced to be present have been in the habit of seeing me so engaged at common festivals, and on the public altars; and so might Meletus himself, if he had wished. And as to novel divinities, how, pray, am I supposed to introduce them by stating that I have a voice[21] from God which clearly signifies to me what I ought do do? Why, what else do those who make use of the cries of birds or utterences of men draw their conclusions from if not from voices? Who will deny that the thunder has a voice and is a very mighty omen;[22] and the priestess on her tripod at Pytho,[23] does not she also proclaim by voice the messages from the god? The god, at