Socrates: “I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good, which would be a splendid thing, if it were so. Actually they have neither. They cannot make a man wise or stupid; they simply act at random.” Socrates: “I cannot abandon …
In this part of the dialogue, Socrates gets to the core of his argument. He asserts that when he agreed to citizenship, he agreed to an unofficial contract with the city of Athens. Socrates says that Athens has married his parents, raised him, and educated him and his children. In return, Socrates has agreed to …
Crito enters the cell, depressed himself at the prospect of Socrates unjust death. Socrates asserts that a man of his age is lucky to have lived so long, and that his mandated death has not cut short his life. Next, Crito grudgingly tells Socrates that the ship from Delos is approaching, marking the end of …
In 399 B.C., Athens sought someone to blame for its humiliating defeat in the Peloponnesian War with Sparta and its allies. This scapegoat, through default more than anything, became Socrates, the legendary Athenian philosopher. Since Socrates often questioned the intentions of Athens politicians, he was blamed for attempting to ruin Athens through slander of its …
