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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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These things 4 O Athenians * are trae ; > "nnft ctould easllynbe disproved , if they wearenoi ^ j , For- if I c 3 drrupt ? isotti 0 ' of ?* fche > youWg menv and have already tfUnfupfcect others , th ^ y ^ * f ,. any pf tbemv grtowfrvg older haw perceived that ; JJ ¦ had given 1 them ev 41 'counselsi when f yotmgv dtfghtfto appear now ,, and charge me with it , and punish me ; or if they were unwilliagf * - some of their ! relations ; their fathers or brothers , if these people
have suffered any £ vilr froifcime , should remember it nowr There are many such persons ip ? esenfcywhom I now see ? Griton , my contemporary and member of Jthesame ward , * the father of Critobulus , here present ; Lysaniae * the father of JEschines , who is present ; Antiphon , the father of Epi genes . ; others , again , whose brothers have kept company with me ; Nieosti ^ us , thesonof Theodotides , brother of Theodotus ; ( Theadoiua himself is cle&d , and therefore cannot have dissuaded his brother from
appearing" against me ;) Paralus , the son of Demodocus , whose brother Theages was ; Adeimantus , the son of Ariston , and brother of Plato ' -hefo ; JEantodorus , brother of this Apollodorus ; and many others I could Jiietition . Some © n& of these , Melitus should have produced as a witness ; and if he then forgot , let him produce them now , and I will give place . But you will find the very contrary of this , O judges ; they are all eager to
assist me- *~ the corrupter and injurer of their relatives , as Melitus and Afry * tus affirm . Those indeed , who have themselves been corrupted by trie , might naturally enough be supposed to take my side : but the uncorrupted , some of them elderly men , the relatives of the others—what reason can they have for aiding me , but the right and just one , their knowledge that Melitus is a calumniator , and that I speak the truth ? '
These things , O Athenians , and such as these , are what I have to say in my defence . Perhaps some one among you may be displeased With me , when he bethinks himself that in the trial which preceded mine , the accused , though he had less at stake , entreated the judges , with many teats ; and brought hither , to excite their pity , his children , and Others of "liis relations and friends ; while I shall do nothing of the kind , although the penalty which , as it may seem , I am in danger of , is the severest of all .
Some of you , perhaps , thinking of these things , may feel harshly towards me , and may give an angry vote . If any one among you feels thus , which I hope is not the case , I think I may very properly hold the fojlowing discourse to him . J too , most worthy person , have relatives : I am not ( as Homer says ) sprung from an oak tree , or from a rock , but from human beings ; and I have not only relations , but three sotis , O Athenians ; one of them a youth , the two others still children .
Nevertheless , I shall not , bringing- any of them here , implore you to actjuit me . And why ? Not from pride , O Athenians , nor from disdain of you ; but for this reason : whether I look upon death with courage or with fear is another matter : but with a view to our reputation , both mine and yours , and that of the city itself , it does not seem to * m . e
honourable that I should do such things at my age , and with auchanaine as I have , whether merited or not . Men certainly believe that Socrates is in some way superior to the multitude of mankind , ft would be Bhameful if those among you who are esteemed superior to tjie rest , whether in wisdom or in courage , or in any other virtue , should conduct themselves like bo many othera whom I have seen on their trial , f % nju , o mi .
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Plato " ' s Dialogues ; \ the Apology * f * Socrates " 173
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1835, page 173, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2643/page/29/
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