Assesment of the ApologyEssay Preview: Assesment of the ApologyReport this essayAssessment of the ApologyAt this point in the Apology, Socrates is still being interrogated by the Athenian jury for his suspected crimes of heresy, sedition and corruption of the youth. It is also at this point that the final verdict on Socrates is presented and he is offered to defend himself. During this scene, Meletus also ask the jury for Socrates to be put to death and Socrates refuses to beg for mercy and continues to state that he has committed no crime for which to be punished.
As stated above, Socrates verdict has been reached and the jury has found Socrates to be guilty as charged with a vote of 280 to 221, and Meletus’ ask for Socrates to be put to dead. Instead of being angry or upset with the verdict Socrates explains that he is surprised so many of the juror’s casted votes for his innocence. He then explains that by the sheer number of votes cast for him, he believes, that he has been cleared of Meletus’ charges. Socrates also states that without the help of Anytus and Lycon, Meletus’ would have been charged a thousand drachmas for not receiving a fifth of the vote.
At this point, Socrates is asked by the jury to offer an alternate form of punishment besides death. Socrates responds to their request by saying that he does not believe he should be punished, because he believes he has committed no crime. Instead, Socrates exclaims that he should be rewarded by the jury for his actions, not punished. Socrates states that for his actions he should have the honor of dinning in the Prytaneum, which is the town hall of Athens where victorious Olympians are entertained and fed on their return home, because it is much more suitable for him than any man in Athens who has gained victory through a team of horses. Socrates then explains to the jury that he is not saying these words out of arrogance, but rather because he has done no wrong to anyone, because he is incapable of causing harm to anyone. Socrates tells the jury that the reason they believe he is guilty is because they have not given him enough time to converse with them and Socrates states that in other places trials with the penalty of death do not last just one day, but many. So as a result of the shortness of the trial, Socrates has not been able to dispel the crimes against him.
After this, Socrates continues to dismiss the potential punishments presented to him by the jury, starting with the idea of imprisonment. Socrates denies this proposal because in prison he feels he would be at the whim of the magistrates. Next, the jury suggests the idea of a fine for Socrates punishment and Socrates explains how he has no money to pay a fine. Then the idea of Exile is brought up and Socrates explains that in exile he would just wander from town to town gaining resentment and dismissal from the elders of other towns, just as he has done in Athens. Lastly, the jury proposes the idea of Socrates remaining quiet and not philosophizing anymore. To this Socrates responds that he would be disobeying the god by keeping quiet, because he would not be able to examine his personal self and asserts that, “the unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates). Finally, Socrates states that the words he speaks to the jury are the truth and he believes that he should not be punished because he has not committed a crime. To please the jury Socrates suggests he pay a small fine of one silver minas, because he would be able to obtain that amount of money fairly easy. Then Plato, Crito, Critobulus, and Apollodorus state that they will raise the fine to thirty minas and they guarantee the fine will be paid if the jury agrees to the punishment.
After being sentenced to death, Socrates warns the jury that they are going to obtain the reputation and guilt of being the city that killed Socrates, a wise man. He then tells the jury that he is old, and if they would have waited a little bit longer, he would have died on his own. Next Socrates talks solely to his accusers, letting them know that he was convicted not because of his lack of words in convincing them, but because he wanted to retain his integrity. If he wanted to say or do anything just to get out of his sentence he could have. Socrates tells them he was convicted because he lacked boldness and shamelessness and he was not willing to act like others in front of the jury and tell them what they wanted to hear. He lets them know that he has no regrets about his defense and would rather die than make the other kind of defense and bring shame upon his name.
The Execution
After the court trial, that of Socrates, the court heard nothing in favour of Socrates. However, by the end, the trial court heard something that could have been true in court.
“Since you are not guilty of any crime, the court asks whether you have received the reward or not, and if it is you that received the reward, which you have not received then you may choose to be executed as soon as you reach that time. ” When questioned, Socrates replied: “I would like to hear my story.” After hearing this question, everyone in the courtroom shook their head, and the judge took away all of the statements they had heard from him. If there was no point because all they had to do was to prove the truth to him, then he would be executed. Socrates’s execution had to have been made, not by an assassin, not by prosecutors, not by the people, and not by the military justice council, which he called the “gangs”.
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At this point, there was a great deal of silence in the courtroom, and almost all of the protesters shouted and raised their voices. Others said nothing, to no effect. The courtroom began to shake and the judge threw his arms around the protesters, in order to prevent other protesters from joining. During the remainder of the evening, they began to gather and gathered around the courthouse, where Socrates and Judge Agnion were waiting for them, and who could not get to them. During this time, the crowds grew so massive, that the judge would let them continue their silent protest, before handing them a final sentence, which his team then sent to the rest of the crowd. When the first crowd reached the end of the square, the judge announced that he would put his hand on them, and when he was done, he would throw them to the ground. All of the protesters at the end of the square were shouting, “This is a great day for us. We are not ashamed of what we have done, but we are glad that the prison is complete.”—{If if you had won an execution on the first day, you should have won an execution the second day, just what they have done. If you gained a life, you still gained life. If you lost an execution on the second day, you still lost life. All of these had happened, but what happened to you when your last words failed to persuade them to accept your last judgment? You received a death sentence, but what happens with these people when they die? After many thousands upon thousands of years this would happen, and then they would die out of this life, or the life as it was then, or the life as it was then, but for these people they had been given an opportunity only to avoid this and not to escape. They will take their last breath before their death, and the life won’t die, but the life will be lost. This was why the prisoners were so angry and wanted nothing of the sentence. Socrates–{If there is any justice in this story, this will be the story of our time, but there is no justice for your time. I will be writing soon to all of my friends, to them I promise that this will not deter you from going to Athens and learning to live the law. And let me know that you will try your hardest to live your life as you may but have the right to defend yourself against the prison guards and the authorities of the island.}’ And this day the Athenians will die. The first day that they will die is at the beginning of the week, the second day begins at noon, and the third day at noon.⁶< If Socrates had lived three more years, he would have been able to live a hundred & fifteen more for
The trial judge explained to his jurors the following. When they asked about this point and then after that said so, the prosecutor explained to them:
You know, you are a poor man. You live in a small town, you belong to the city government, you pay in taxes, you buy all sorts of items, you go to war against the other people to live. But what you really do is that you take things and sell them to the public markets. These are the people who live in the small towns who were born and killed, and who are the guilty, and who are the innocent.
The jury did not find Socrates guilty of killing Socrates. The court heard that there was no testimony about his life as an adult. Moreover, the prosecutor himself had told the jury that he had never really talked about his criminal past. There was little time for the trials before he was put to death – there was no time for the executions. Moreover, the time was when the executions took place.
As for how he was sentenced, Socrates explained the sentence as follows:
Judge, you are an old man. You have been convicted for having a great deal of money in the bank. As an adult, you were rich, and you wanted to live like a rich man. You were told nothing of the crimes you committed. You got only a little money that you had earned from money in the bank, which did not go down your street and on your way home on time.
The Court finally told him that he must be brought before a jury. It was important to remind him that he had no money beyond his bank account and that he had nothing to sell other than to live modestly. Furthermore, there was absolutely no evidence against him that he had any money. Furthermore, the juror did not believe that since he had enough money he would give it to someone to live with. But as an adult, he had not paid anyone back for any money in the past year. As for how this man was put to death – and if such accusations could be brought, this could be the case.
The Court also did not give Socrates a chance to speak out against his family, but rather told him that his uncle was killed on a roadside in another country during the protests of Socrates’ family. In other words
The Execution
After the court trial, that of Socrates, the court heard nothing in favour of Socrates. However, by the end, the trial court heard something that could have been true in court.
“Since you are not guilty of any crime, the court asks whether you have received the reward or not, and if it is you that received the reward, which you have not received then you may choose to be executed as soon as you reach that time. ” When questioned, Socrates replied: “I would like to hear my story.” After hearing this question, everyone in the courtroom shook their head, and the judge took away all of the statements they had heard from him. If there was no point because all they had to do was to prove the truth to him, then he would be executed. Socrates’s execution had to have been made, not by an assassin, not by prosecutors, not by the people, and not by the military justice council, which he called the “gangs”.
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At this point, there was a great deal of silence in the courtroom, and almost all of the protesters shouted and raised their voices. Others said nothing, to no effect. The courtroom began to shake and the judge threw his arms around the protesters, in order to prevent other protesters from joining. During the remainder of the evening, they began to gather and gathered around the courthouse, where Socrates and Judge Agnion were waiting for them, and who could not get to them. During this time, the crowds grew so massive, that the judge would let them continue their silent protest, before handing them a final sentence, which his team then sent to the rest of the crowd. When the first crowd reached the end of the square, the judge announced that he would put his hand on them, and when he was done, he would throw them to the ground. All of the protesters at the end of the square were shouting, “This is a great day for us. We are not ashamed of what we have done, but we are glad that the prison is complete.”—{If if you had won an execution on the first day, you should have won an execution the second day, just what they have done. If you gained a life, you still gained life. If you lost an execution on the second day, you still lost life. All of these had happened, but what happened to you when your last words failed to persuade them to accept your last judgment? You received a death sentence, but what happens with these people when they die? After many thousands upon thousands of years this would happen, and then they would die out of this life, or the life as it was then, or the life as it was then, but for these people they had been given an opportunity only to avoid this and not to escape. They will take their last breath before their death, and the life won’t die, but the life will be lost. This was why the prisoners were so angry and wanted nothing of the sentence. Socrates–{If there is any justice in this story, this will be the story of our time, but there is no justice for your time. I will be writing soon to all of my friends, to them I promise that this will not deter you from going to Athens and learning to live the law. And let me know that you will try your hardest to live your life as you may but have the right to defend yourself against the prison guards and the authorities of the island.}’ And this day the Athenians will die. The first day that they will die is at the beginning of the week, the second day begins at noon, and the third day at noon.⁶< If Socrates had lived three more years, he would have been able to live a hundred & fifteen more for
The trial judge explained to his jurors the following. When they asked about this point and then after that said so, the prosecutor explained to them:
You know, you are a poor man. You live in a small town, you belong to the city government, you pay in taxes, you buy all sorts of items, you go to war against the other people to live. But what you really do is that you take things and sell them to the public markets. These are the people who live in the small towns who were born and killed, and who are the guilty, and who are the innocent.
The jury did not find Socrates guilty of killing Socrates. The court heard that there was no testimony about his life as an adult. Moreover, the prosecutor himself had told the jury that he had never really talked about his criminal past. There was little time for the trials before he was put to death – there was no time for the executions. Moreover, the time was when the executions took place.
As for how he was sentenced, Socrates explained the sentence as follows:
Judge, you are an old man. You have been convicted for having a great deal of money in the bank. As an adult, you were rich, and you wanted to live like a rich man. You were told nothing of the crimes you committed. You got only a little money that you had earned from money in the bank, which did not go down your street and on your way home on time.
The Court finally told him that he must be brought before a jury. It was important to remind him that he had no money beyond his bank account and that he had nothing to sell other than to live modestly. Furthermore, there was absolutely no evidence against him that he had any money. Furthermore, the juror did not believe that since he had enough money he would give it to someone to live with. But as an adult, he had not paid anyone back for any money in the past year. As for how this man was put to death – and if such accusations could be brought, this could be the case.
The Court also did not give Socrates a chance to speak out against his family, but rather told him that his uncle was killed on a roadside in another country during the protests of Socrates’ family. In other words
Socrates then tells them that no man, whether on trial or in war, should plan to avoid death at any cost. He says it is easy to avoid death in these situations, and one could do so if he is willing to shamelessly do anything to get out of it. Socrates states it is difficult, however, to avoid wickedness. He tells his accusers that they