The responsibility of Socrates

Title

Language

English

Source

Volume XIX (6) June 1967

Year

1967

Subject

Socrates -- Juvenile literature

Socrates

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[A lesson from Greek history]

Fulltext

■ A lesson from Greek history. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SOCRATES Among the oligarchies set up or supported by Sparta was a cruel and bloodthirsty group in Athens, known as ‘The Thirty’, led by one Critias, who had been an associate of Socrates. They ruled in terror for a few months, but oligarchy could not long survive in Attica. The democracy was restored, and with a courage and a moderation which do some thing to atone for the folly and the occasional violence which the democracy dis played during the war. It is true that the restored demo cracy was persuaded, in 399 B.C.', to- put Socrates to death, but this was far from being an act of brutal stu pidity. Let the reader re member what had been seen endured by the jury who tried this case — their city defeated, starved and disman tled by the Spartans, the democracy overthrown, and the people harried by a sa vage tyranny. Let him then reflect that the man who had done Athens most harm and had rendered the most out standing services to Sparta was the Athenian aristocrat Alcibiades, and that this Alcibiades had been a constant associate of Socrates — and that the terrible Critias had been another. Let him re flect too that although So crates had been a most cons picuously loyal citizen, he had been also an outspoken critic of the democratic prin ciple. It is no matter for surprise if many simple Athenians thought that the treachery of Alcibiades and the oligarchic fury of Critias and his crew were the direct result of Socrates’ teaching, and if many others, not un reasonably attributing the woes of the city to the up setting of traditional stand ards of behaviour and mo rality, fastened some of the responsibility for this upon the continuous and public questioning of all things by Socrates. In such circums tances, would Socrates be acquitted today by a Gallup poll, especially after making June 1967 27 so uncompromising a de fence? We may doubt if the figures would be more favourable to him — a ma jority of 60 out of 501. That the death penalty followed was of his own choosing; he deliberately refused to offer to go into exile, and, as de liberately, he refused to be smuggled out of prison. No thing can be more sublime than the bearing of Socrates during and after his trial, and this sublimity must not be sentimentalized by the re presenting of Socrates as the victim of an ignorant mob. His death was almost a He gelian tragedy, a conflict in which both sides were right. — By H. D. F. Kitto from The Greeks. ENGLISH Nobody ever imagined that the serious-minded and somber-faced editor of dictionaries would flirt, least ‘of all his wife. But one day she found him kiss ing the maid — and exclaimed: “Why, John, I’m surprised!” He retorted: “Not you, my dear — I am surprised; you are astonished.” 28 Panorama

pages

27-28

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