The Apology | Page 3

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Etext prepared by John Bickers, [email protected].

The Apology
By Xenophon
Translation by H. G. Dakyns

Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates.
He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta
gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years
before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354
B.C.

The Apology describes Socrates' state of mind at his trial and execution,

and especially his view that it was better to die before senility set in
than to escape execution by humbling himself be- fore an unjust
persecution. Xenophon was away at the time, involved in the events of
the march of the ten thousand.

PREPARER'S NOTE
This was typed from Dakyns' series, "The Works of Xenophon," a
four-volume set. The complete list of Xenophon's works (though there
is doubt about some of these) is:
Work Number of books
The Anabasis 7 The Hellenica 7 The Cyropaedia 8 The Memorabilia 4
The Symposium 1 The Economist 1 On Horsemanship 1 The
Sportsman 1 The Cavalry General 1 The Apology 1 On Revenues 1
The Hiero 1 The Agesilaus 1 The Polity of the Athenians and the
Lacedaemonians 2
Text in brackets "{}" is my transliteration of Greek text into English
using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table. The diacritical
marks have been lost.

The Apology
By Xenophon
Translation by H. G. Dakyns

THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES[1]
Among the reminiscences of Socrates, none, as it seems to me, is more
deserving of record than the counsel he took with himself[2] (after
being cited to appear before the court), not only with regard to his

defence, but also as to the ending of his life. Others have written on this
theme, and all without exception have touched upon[3] the lofty style
of the philosopher,[4] which may be taken as a proof that the language
used by Socrates was really of that type. But none of these writers has
brought out clearly the fact that Socrates had come to regard death as
for himself preferable to life; and consequently there is just a suspicion
of foolhardiness in the arrogancy of his address.[5] We have, however,
from the lips of one of his intimate acquaintances, Hermogenes,[6] the
son of Hipponicus, an account of him which shows the high demeanour
in question to have been altogether in keeping with the master's rational
purpose.[7] Hermogenes says that, seeing Socrates discoursing on
every topic rather than that of his impending trial, he roundly put it to
him whether he ought not to be debating the line of his defence, to
which Socrates in the first instance answered: "What! do I not seem to
you to have spent my whole life in meditating my defence?" And when
Hermogenes asked him, "How?" he added: "By a lifelong persistence
in doing nothing wrong, and that I take to be the finest practice for his
defence which a man could devise." Presently reverting to the topic,
Hermogenes demanded: "Do you not see, SOcrates, how often
Athenian juries[8] are constrained by arguments to put quite innocent
people to death, and not less often to acquit the guilty, either through
some touch of pity excited by the pleadings, or that the defendant had
skill to turn some charming phrase?" Thus appealed to, Socrates replied:
"Nay, solemnly I tell you, twice already I have essayed to consider my
defence, and twice the divinity[9] hinders me"; and to the remark of
Hermogenes, "That is strange!" he answered again: "Strange, do you
call it, that to God it should seem better for me to die at once? Do you
not know that up to this moment I will not concede to any man to have
lived a better life than I have; since what can exceed the pleasure,
which has been mine, of knowing[10] that my whole life has been
spent holily and justly? And indeed this