The Apology of Socrates How you,Athenians,have been affected by my accusers,I cannot tell:but I know that they almost made me forget who I was,so persuasively did they speak;and yet they have hardly uttered a word of truth.But of the many falsehoods told by them,there was one which quite amazed me:I mean when they said that you should be upon your guard and not allow yourselves to be deceived by the force of this,when they were to be detected as sIopened my lips and proved myself to be anything but a great peaker,did indeed appe to me most shameless,unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth,for if such is their meaning.I admit that I am eloquent.But in how different a way from theirs!Well,as I was saying.they have scarcely spoken the truth at all:but from me you shall hear the whole truth:not however.delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases. No,by heaven!bu Ishall use the words and gum which tome atthe c mo ent;for I am confident in the justice of my cause:at my time of lifel ought not to be appearing before you Omen of Athens,in the character of a juvenile orator,let no one expect it of me.And I must beg of you to grant me a favor:IfI defend myself in my accustomed manner,and you hear me using the words which I have been in the habit of using in the agora,at the tables of the money-changers. r would ask you not tobe surprised,and not to interrupt men thisaccount.For am more than seventy years of ge.and appearing now for the first time lw,Iam quite a stranger to the language of the place;and therefore I would have you regard me as ifI were really a stranger,whom you would accuse if he spoke in his native tongue,and after the fashion of his country:Am I making an unfair request of you?Never mind the manner,which may or may And first.I have to reply to the older charges and to my first accusers,and then I will go on to the later ones.For of old I have had many accusers,who have accused me falsely to you during many years,and I am more afraid of them than of Anytus and his associates,who are dangerous. too,in their m way.But far more da e the others,who beg when you were ch and took possession of your minds with their falschoods.telling of oneS crates,a wise man,whe speculated about the heaven above,and searched into the earth beneath,and made the worse appear the better cause.The disseminators of this tale are the accusers whom I dread:for their hearers are apt to fancy that such inguirers do not believe in the existence of the gods.And thev arges against are of ancient date,and they were made by them in the e than you are now,in childhood or it may have been i youth,and the cause when heard went by default,for there was none to answer.And hardest of all I do not know and cannot tell the names of my accusers,unless in the chance case of a Comic poet. All who from envy and malice have persuaded you,some of them having first convinced themselves,all this class of men are most difficult to deal with,for I cannot have them up here. and r-xmine themand simply fight with shadows in myown argue when there is no one who answers.I will ask you then to assume with me,as I was saying. that my opponents are of two kinds,one recent,the other ancient:and I hope that you will see the propriety of my answering the latter first,for these accusations you heard long before the others
The Apology of Socrates How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that they almost made me forget who I was, so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have hardly uttered a word of truth. But of the many falsehoods told by them, there was one which quite amazed me; I mean when they said that you should be upon your guard and not allow yourselves to be deceived by the force of my eloquence. To say this, when they were certain to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and proved myself to be anything but a great speaker, did indeed appear to me most shameless, unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth; for if such is their meaning, I admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have scarcely spoken the truth at all; but from me you shall hear the whole truth: not, however, delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases. No, by heaven! but I shall use the words and arguments which occur to me at the moment; for I am confident in the justice of my cause: at my time of life I ought not to be appearing before you, O men of Athens, in the character of a juvenile orator, let no one expect it of me. And I must beg of you to grant me a favor: If I defend myself in my accustomed manner, and you hear me using the words which I have been in the habit of using in the agora, at the tables of the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised, and not to interrupt me on this account. For I am more than seventy years of age, and appearing now for the first time in a court of law, I am quite a stranger to the language of the place; and therefore I would have you regard me as if I were really a stranger, whom you would accuse if he spoke in his native tongue, and after the fashion of his country: Am I making an unfair request of you? Never mind the manner, which may or may not be good; but think only of the truth of my words, and give heed to that: let the speaker speak truly and the judge decide justly. And first, I have to reply to the older charges and to my first accusers, and then I will go on to the later ones. For of old I have had many accusers, who have accused me falsely to you during many years; and I am more afraid of them than of Anytus and his associates, who are dangerous, too, in their own way. But far more dangerous are the others, who began when you were children, and took possession of your minds with their falsehoods, telling of one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse appear the better cause. The disseminators of this tale are the accusers whom I dread; for their hearers are apt to fancy that such inquirers do not believe in the existence of the gods. And they are many, and their charges against me are of ancient date, and they were made by them in the days when you were more impressionable than you are now, in childhood, or it may have been in youth, and the cause when heard went by default, for there was none to answer. And hardest of all, I do not know and cannot tell the names of my accusers; unless in the chance case of a Comic poet. All who from envy and malice have persuaded you, some of them having first convinced themselves, all this class of men are most difficult to deal with; for I cannot have them up here, and cross-examine them, and therefore I must simply fight with shadows in my own defense, and argue when there is no one who answers. I will ask you then to assume with me, as I was saying, that my opponents are of two kinds; one recent, the other ancient: and I hope that you will see the propriety of my answering the latter first, for these accusations you heard long before the others
and much oftener. Well,then I must make my defense,and endeavor toclear away ina shor time a slander which has lasted a long time.May I succeed,if to succeed be for my good and yours or likely to avai me in my cause the task is not an easy one:I quite understand the nature of it.And so leaving the event with God.in obedience to the law I will now make my defense. This inquisition has ed tomy having manyenemies of the worst and most dangerous kind.and has given occasion also to many calumnies.And I am called wise,for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find wanting in others:but the truth is,O men of Athens that God only is wise;and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing.he is not speaking of Socrates,he is only using my name by way of illustration,as if he said.O men.he is the wiscs who,like Socrates ws that is And Igo about the tothe god.and sarch and make nqiry ino the wisdomof any one,whether citizen or stranger,who appears to be wise;and if he is not wise,then I show him that he is not wise,and my occupation quite absorbs me,and I have no time to give attention to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devtion tothe od. For wherever a man's place is,whether the place which he has chosen or that in which he has been placed by a commander,there he ought to remain in the hour of danger,he should not think of death or of anything but of disgrace.And this,O men of Athens,is a true saying But,setting aside the question of public opnion there seems to be something wrong in asking favor of a judge,and thus procuring an acquittal,instead of infomming and convincing him.For his duty is,not to make a present of justice.but to give judgment:and he has sworn that he will judge according to the laws.and not according to his own good and pleasure:and we ought not to encourage you,nor should you allow yourselves to be encouraged,in this habit of perjury,there can be no piety in that.Do not ther me to do what I c onsider dishonorable and impiou and wrong especially now,being tried for impiety on the of Meletus.For Omen of Athens,by force of persuasion and entreaty I could overpower your oaths,then I should be teaching you to believe that there are no gods,and in defending should simply convict myself of the charge of not believing in them.But that is not so.far otherwise.For I do believe that there are gods,and in asense higher than that in which any of my accusers believe in them.And toyou and to God Icommit my cause,to be determined by you as is be tfor you and me. [At this point.the jury condemns Socrates to death.Socrates then comments on his sentence. Not much time will be gained.O Athenians.in return for the evil name which you will get from the detractors of the city.who will say that you killed Socrates.a wise man:for they will call me wise ven though wiswh the want to re h you If you had waited your desire would have been fulfilled in the cose of nature far advanced in yearsa you may perceive,and not far from death.I am speaking now only to those of you who have condemned me to death.And I have another thing to say to them:
and much oftener. Well, then, I must make my defense, and endeavor to clear away in a short time, a slander which has lasted a long time. May I succeed, if to succeed be for my good and yours, or likely to avail me in my cause the task is not an easy one; I quite understand the nature of it. And so leaving the event with God, in obedience to the law I will now make my defense. . This inquisition has led to my having many enemies of the worst and most dangerous kind, and has given occasion also to many calumnies. And I am called wise, for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find wanting in others: but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing; he is not speaking of Socrates, he is only using my name by way of illustration, as if he said, O men, he is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing. And so I go about the world, obedient to the god, and search and make enquiry into the wisdom of any one, whether citizen or stranger, who appears to be wise; and if he is not wise, then I show him that he is not wise; and my occupation quite absorbs me, and I have no time to give attention to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god. . For wherever a man's place is, whether the place which he has chosen or that in which he has been placed by a commander, there he ought to remain in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or of anything but of disgrace. And this, O men of Athens, is a true saying. . But, setting aside the question of public opinion, there seems to be something wrong in asking a favor of a judge, and thus procuring an acquittal, instead of informing and convincing him. For his duty is, not to make a present of justice, but to give judgment; and he has sworn that he will judge according to the laws, and not according to his own good and pleasure; and we ought not to encourage you, nor should you allow yourselves to be encouraged, in this habit of perjury, there can be no piety in that. Do not then require me to do what I consider dishonorable and impious and wrong, especially now, when I am being tried for impiety on the indictment of Meletus. For if, O men of Athens, by force of persuasion and entreaty I could overpower your oaths, then I should be teaching you to believe that there are no gods, and in defending should simply convict myself of the charge of not believing in them. But that is not so, far otherwise. For I do believe that there are gods, and in a sense higher than that in which any of my accusers believe in them. And to you and to God I commit my cause, to be determined by you as is best for you and me. . [At this point, the jury condemns Socrates to death. Socrates then comments on his sentence.] Not much time will be gained, O Athenians, in return for the evil name which you will get from the detractors of the city, who will say that you killed Socrates, a wise man; for they will call me wise even though I am not wise when they want to reproach you. If you had waited a little while, your desire would have been fulfilled in the course of nature. For I am far advanced in years, as you may perceive, and not far from death. I am speaking now only to those of you who have condemned me to death. And I have another thing to say to them:
You think that I was convicted through deficiency of words-I mean.that if I had thought fit to leave,nothing sd,I might have gained an acquittal.Not the deficien which led to my conviction was not of words-certainly not.But I had not the boldness or impudence or inclination to address you as you would have liked me to address you,weeping and wailing and lamenting and saying and doing many things which you have been accustomed to hear from others,and which,as I say,are unworthy of me.But I thought that I ought not to do thing in the hour of danger.nor doInow repent of the manner of my defen and I would rather die having spoken after my manner,than speak in your manner and live.Fo neither in war nor yet at law ought any man to use every way of escaping death.For often in battle there is no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms.and fall on his knees before his pursuers. he may escape death:and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death.if a man is willing tosay and do anything The difficulty,my friends is not in avoiding death,but in avoiding ss for that runs faster than death.and move slowly.and the sower runne has overtaken me,and my accusers are keen and quick,and the faster runner,who i unrighteousness.has overtaken them.And now I depart hence condemned by you to suffer the penalty of death,and they,too,go their ways condemned by the truth to suffer the penalty of villainy and wrong and Imust abide by my awardet them abide by theirs.Isuppose that these things may be regar ed as fated,-and I think that they are well. And now,O men who have condemned me.I would fain prophesy to you:for I am about to die. and that is the hour in which men are gifted with prophetic power.And I prophesy to you who are my murderers,that immediately after my death punishment far heavier than you have inflicted on me will surely await you Me you have killed becaus you wanted toe the accuser,and not ogive n account of your lives.Bu that will not be as you suppos far othe there will be more accusers of you than there are now,accusers whom hitherto I have restrained and as they are vounger they will be more severe with vou and you will be more offended at them For if you think that by killing men you can avoid the accuser censuring your lives,you are easiest and noblest is not to be ing others,but to be mproving you This is the e prophecy which】 utter before my departure.to the judges who have condemned me Friends,who would have acquitted me.I would like also to talk with you about this thing which has happened,while the magistrates are busy,and before I go to the place at which I must die Stay the a while fory vell talk with ne a You re my O my judges-for you I may truly call judges-I should like to tell you of a wonderful circumstance.Hitherto the familiar acle within me has constantly been in the habit of opposing worst evil.But the oracle made no sign of opposition,either as I was leaving my house and going out in the morning,or when I was going up into this court,or while I was speaking,at anything which I was going to say:and yet I have often been stopped in the middle of a speech:but now in nothing Ither sid did touching this matter has opposed me.What do Itake to be
You think that I was convicted through deficiency of words - I mean, that if I had thought fit to leave nothing undone, nothing unsaid, I might have gained an acquittal. Not so; the deficiency which led to my conviction was not of words - certainly not. But I had not the boldness or impudence or inclination to address you as you would have liked me to address you, weeping and wailing and lamenting, and saying and doing many things which you have been accustomed to hear from others, and which, as I say, are unworthy of me. But I thought that I ought not to do anything common or mean in the hour of danger: nor do I now repent of the manner of my defense, and I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live. For neither in war nor yet at law ought any man to use every way of escaping death. For often in battle there is no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees before his pursuers, he may escape death; and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death, if a man is willing to say and do anything. The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death. I am old and move slowly, and the slower runner has overtaken me, and my accusers are keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is unrighteousness, has overtaken them. And now I depart hence condemned by you to suffer the penalty of death, and they, too, go their ways condemned by the truth to suffer the penalty of villainy and wrong; and I must abide by my award - let them abide by theirs. I suppose that these things may be regarded as fated, - and I think that they are well. And now, O men who have condemned me, I would fain prophesy to you; for I am about to die, and that is the hour in which men are gifted with prophetic power. And I prophesy to you who are my murderers, that immediately after my death punishment far heavier than you have inflicted on me will surely await you. Me you have killed because you wanted to escape the accuser, and not to give an account of your lives. But that will not be as you suppose: far otherwise. For I say that there will be more accusers of you than there are now; accusers whom hitherto I have restrained: and as they are younger they will be more severe with you, and you will be more offended at them. For if you think that by killing men you can avoid the accuser censuring your lives, you are mistaken; that is not a way of escape which is either possible or honorable; the easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves. This is the prophecy which I utter before my departure, to the judges who have condemned me. Friends, who would have acquitted me, I would like also to talk with you about this thing which has happened, while the magistrates are busy, and before I go to the place at which I must die. Stay then a while, for we may as well talk with one another while there is time. You are my friends, and I should like to show you the meaning of this event which has happened to me. O my judges - for you I may truly call judges - I should like to tell you of a wonderful circumstance. Hitherto the familiar oracle within me has constantly been in the habit of opposing me even about trifles, if I was going to make a slip or error about anything; and now as you see there has come upon me that which may be thought, and is generally believed to be, the last and worst evil. But the oracle made no sign of opposition, either as I was leaving my house and going out in the morning, or when I was going up into this court, or while I was speaking, at anything which I was going to say; and yet I have often been stopped in the middle of a speech; but now in nothing I either said or did touching this matter has the oracle opposed me. What do I take to be
the explanation of this?I will tell you.I regard this as a proof that what has happened to me is a and not to good Let us reflect in another way,and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good,for one of two things. eithr death is a state of nothingness and tterun men there is change and gratio the oul from this world to another. w if you suppose that there is no consciousness,but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed ever by the sight of dreams,death will be an unspeakable gain.For if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams,and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life and then were to tell us how many days and nights he had passed in the ou of his life better and more pleasantly than this one.I think that any man,I wil Inot say private man,but even the great king will not find many such days or nights,when compared wit the others.Now if death is like this,I say that to die is gain;for eternity is then only a single night But if death is the journey to another place,and there,as men say,all the dead are,what good,O my friends and judges.can be greater than this?If indeed when the pilgrim arrives in the world below,he is deli ed fron m the rs of justice in this world,and finds the true judges who and Rh anth us and Aeac nd Tript nd other sons of God who were righteous in their own life,that pilgrimage will be worth making.Wha would not a man give if he might converse with Orpheus and Musaeus and Hesiod and Homer? Nay,if this be true,let me die again and again.I,too,shall have a wonderful interest in a place where I can con rse with Palam edes,and Ajax the son of Telamon, mall plea .as I think.ir comparing my own sufferings with theirs.Above all,I shall be able to continue my search int true and false knowledge,as in this word.so also in that:I shall find out who is wise.and who pretends to be wise.and is not What would not a man give.O judges.to be able to examine the leader of the great Trojan expedition;or Odysseus or Sisyphus,or numberless others,men and men tool What in inite delight would there be in sing with them and asking them questions!For in that world they do not put a man to death for this,certainly notFor besides being happier in that world than in this,they will be immortal,if what is said is true Wherefore.O iudges.be of good cheer about death.and know this of a truth-that no evil can happen to a good man either in life or after death.He and his are not neglected by the gods:nor has my own a pproachingend happe ened by mere chance.But I see clearly that the time had arrived when it was better for eto die and be e released from trouble and fore the oracle gave no sign.For which reason also,I am not angry with my accusers,or my condemners,they have done me no harm,although neither of them meant to do me any good:and for this I may gently blame them Still I have a favor to ask of them.When my sons are grown up.I would ask you.O my friends.to punish them,and I would have you troubl hem.as I have troubled you if they em to care 6 ut riches,or anything.more than about virtueor f they pretend to be something when they are really nothing.-then reprove them,as I have reproved you.for not caring about that for which they ought to care,and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing And if you do this,I and my sons will have received justice at your hands
the explanation of this? I will tell you. I regard this as a proof that what has happened to me is a good, and that those of us who think that death is an evil are in error. This is a great proof to me of what I am saying, for the customary sign would surely have opposed me had I been going to evil and not to good. Let us reflect in another way, and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good, for one of two things: - either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by the sight of dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain. For if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams, and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life, and then were to tell us how many days and nights he had passed in the course of his life better and more pleasantly than this one, I think that any man, I will not say a private man, but even the great king, will not find many such days or nights, when compared with the others. Now if death is like this, I say that to die is gain; for eternity is then only a single night. But if death is the journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead are, what good, O my friends and judges, can be greater than this? If indeed when the pilgrim arrives in the world below, he is delivered from the professors of justice in this world, and finds the true judges who are said to give judgment there, Minos and Rhadamanthus and Aeacus and Triptolemus, and other sons of God who were righteous in their own life, that pilgrimage will be worth making. What would not a man give if he might converse with Orpheus and Musaeus and Hesiod and Homer? Nay, if this be true, let me die again and again. I, too, shall have a wonderful interest in a place where I can converse with Palamedes, and Ajax the son of Telamon, and other heroes of old, who have suffered death through an unjust judgment; and there will be no small pleasure, as I think, in comparing my own sufferings with theirs. Above all, I shall be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge; as in this world, so also in that; I shall find out who is wise, and who pretends to be wise, and is not. What would not a man give, O judges, to be able to examine the leader of the great Trojan expedition; or Odysseus or Sisyphus, or numberless others, men and women too! What infinite delight would there be in conversing with them and asking them questions! For in that world they do not put a man to death for this; certainly not. For besides being happier in that world than in this, they will be immortal, if what is said is true. Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth - that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods; nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance. But I see clearly that the time had arrived when it was better for me to die and be released from trouble; and therefore the oracle gave no sign. For which reason also, I am not angry with my accusers, or my condemners; they have done me no harm, although neither of them meant to do me any good; and for this I may gently blame them. Still I have a favor to ask of them. When my sons are grown up, I would ask you, O my friends, to punish them; and I would have you trouble them, as I have troubled you, if they seem to care about riches, or anything, more than about virtue; or if they pretend to be something when they are really nothing, - then reprove them, as I have reproved you, for not caring about that for which they ought to care, and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing. And if you do this, I and my sons will have received justice at your hands
The hour of departure has arrived,and we go our separate ways,I to die,and you to live.Which of e two is better,only God knows 附译文： 听了原告的控诉，雅典公民们，各位心里怎么想，我不知道：至于我，我感到简直认不得我 自己了。他们说得真是天花乱坠，可就是几乎没有一个字是真话。在那些假话中间，最使我 吃惊的是他们居然说：你们必须小心提防，不要上我的当，因为我能说会道一一这真是无耻 之极。他们害怕我戳穿他们的谎言，我将表明自己完全不是能说会道。他们如果把说真话的 人说成能说 我可以同意自己是个会说话的人 ,但这跟他们的指控完全是两码事！他们 的话没有一点真东西，你们可以听得出，我说的只有实话，没有别的：皇天在上，雅典公民 们，我的话不像他们那样字斟句酌，也没经过仔细安排，只是信口说出，不加选择：因为我 坚信我说的是真理：我这样年纪的人，公民们，当者你们像孩子似的说瞎话是不恰当的。我 是切的请求你们，雅典公民们，在我以自己的方式答辩的时候，如果听到大家在市场上、钱 店里或者什么别的地方听我常说的 不要因此而打断我。 我虽然活 到比十岁，还是第 一次上法庭，不懂这里的说话规矩，是个大外行。因此请把我看作一个 正的外人，你们会原谅他用本乡的土话和说法来说话：现在我也这样要求你们，这是一项正 当的要求：请撒开我的说话方式，不管它是好还是坏，只要注意我说得有没有道理：让人实 话实说，然后作出公正的判断 雅典公民们，我首先应当驳斥那些对我的第一批诬陷，以及第一批的诬陷者，然后再驳斥后 来的一批 因为在你们以前，己经有许 诬 者来反 对我，他们在很久以前 好多年以 就已经说过话，说的不是实话。我害怕他们更甚于安虞多等人，虽然后者也同样危险，但其 他人更危险，因为他们在你们童年时就用谎言控制了你们：说有一个苏格拉底，是智慧的人， 对天上地下的事无不钻研，能把没理的说成有理。那一批人，雅典公民们，把这个谣言到处 传播，是我最危险的诬陷者。因为听信谣言的就以为研究那些事的人根本不信神灵。而且他 们人数众多，他们的攻击就进行 很久：他们对你们说话的时候正当你们最容易轻信的年龄 你们有些人是少年，多数人还在童年，他们对我肆意攻讦，并没有人跟他们驳辩。最糟糕的 是连他们的名字也不知道，无法指出他们是哪一个，只知道其中有一位喜剧作家。那些处于 妒忌或者恶意让你们听信这类谣言的人，以及自己听信之后又让别人轻信的人，是最难对付 的，因为简直无法把他们拉到你们面前，只得望空驳辩，好像跟影子打架，提出质问而无人 回答。所以我要请大家注意，我说过有两类诬陷我的人 类是新近提出控诉的，另一类是 很久以前肆意攻击的，后一类人我应该先驳斥，因为他们先给你们灌输澜言，先入为主，胜 过最新的一类。 雅典公民们：现在我要为自己辩护，尽快地清除掉你们心里长久以来的偏见。我希望进行得 顺利，因为这对你们有利，也对我有利，能帮助我打赢官司。但是我知道这很难做到，并不 目乐观。成败如何，要听神灵的意旨：我应当服从法律，进行答辩。 就是这一番查访给我引来了很多人的敌意，非常苛刻，非常毒辣，它也给我招来很多诽谤， 使人家说我是智慧的。因为在旁观的人看来，我既然说别人对某事无知，那就一定是我本人 对这件事有智慧了。其实，公民们，只有神才是真正的智慧的，他的神签的用意是说：“人 的智慧价值不大，甚至毫无价值。”看来他并不是说苏格拉底的智慧只是用我的名字当作例 子。音田大，“人哪。 你们中间那个像苏格拉底这样的人，是最智慧的，他承认自 己在智慧方面实际上毫无价值 所以我到现在还在到处奔波，还在按照神的意旨检验我认为智慧的每一个人，不管他是本邦 公民还是外邦侨民。如果我发觉他并不智慧，我就协助神指出他不是智慧的人。由于这项工 作很忙，所以我没有余暇去参加政治活动，也没有工夫去料理自己的私事。如今我一贫如洗
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die, and you to live. Which of these two is better, only God knows. 附译文： 听了原告的控诉，雅典公民们，各位心里怎么想，我不知道；至于我，我感到简直认不得我 自己了。他们说得真是天花乱坠，可就是几乎没有一个字是真话。在那些假话中间，最使我 吃惊的是他们居然说：你们必须小心提防，不要上我的当，因为我能说会道——这真是无耻 之极。他们害怕我戳穿他们的谎言，我将表明自己完全不是能说会道。他们如果把说真话的 人说成能说会道，我可以同意自己是个会说话的人，但这跟他们的指控完全是两码事！他们 的话没有一点真东西，你们可以听得出，我说的只有实话，没有别的：皇天在上，雅典公民 们，我的话不像他们那样字斟句酌，也没经过仔细安排，只是信口说出，不加选择；因为我 坚信我说的是真理：我这样年纪的人，公民们，当着你们像孩子似的说瞎话是不恰当的。我 恳切的请求你们，雅典公民们，在我以自己的方式答辩的时候，如果听到大家在市场上、钱 店里或者什么别的地方听我常说的一些字眼，请不要见怪，请不要因此而打断我。我虽然活 到七十岁，还是第一次上法庭，不懂这里的说话规矩，是个大外行。因此请把我看作一个真 正的外人，你们会原谅他用本乡的土话和说法来说话；现在我也这样要求你们，这是一项正 当的要求：请撇开我的说话方式，不管它是好还是坏，只要注意我说得有没有道理：让人实 话实说，然后作出公正的判断。 雅典公民们，我首先应当驳斥那些对我的第一批诬陷，以及第一批的诬陷者，然后再驳斥后 来的一批。因为在你们以前，已经有许多诬陷者来反对我，他们在很久以前，好多年以前， 就已经说过话，说的不是实话。我害怕他们更甚于安虞多等人，虽然后者也同样危险，但其 他人更危险，因为他们在你们童年时就用谎言控制了你们：说有一个苏格拉底，是智慧的人， 对天上地下的事无不钻研，能把没理的说成有理。那一批人，雅典公民们，把这个谣言到处 传播，是我最危险的诬陷者。因为听信谣言的就以为研究那些事的人根本不信神灵。而且他 们人数众多，他们的攻击就进行了很久；他们对你们说话的时候正当你们最容易轻信的年龄， 你们有些人是少年，多数人还在童年，他们对我肆意攻讦，并没有人跟他们驳辩。最糟糕的 是连他们的名字也不知道，无法指出他们是哪一个，只知道其中有一位喜剧作家。那些处于 妒忌或者恶意让你们听信这类谣言的人，以及自己听信之后又让别人轻信的人，是最难对付 的，因为简直无法把他们拉到你们面前，只得望空驳辩，好像跟影子打架，提出质问而无人 回答。所以我要请大家注意，我说过有两类诬陷我的人，一类是新近提出控诉的，另一类是 很久以前肆意攻击的，后一类人我应该先驳斥，因为他们先给你们灌输谰言，先入为主，胜 过最新的一类。 雅典公民们！现在我要为自己辩护，尽快地清除掉你们心里长久以来的偏见。我希望进行得 顺利，因为这对你们有利，也对我有利，能帮助我打赢官司。但是我知道这很难做到，并不 盲目乐观。成败如何，要听神灵的意旨；我应当服从法律，进行答辩。 . 就是这一番查访给我引来了很多人的敌意，非常苛刻，非常毒辣，它也给我招来很多诽谤， 使人家说我是智慧的。因为在旁观的人看来，我既然说别人对某事无知，那就一定是我本人 对这件事有智慧了。其实，公民们，只有神才是真正的智慧的，他的神签的用意是说：“人 的智慧价值不大，甚至毫无价值。”看来他并不是说苏格拉底的智慧,只是用我的名字当作例 子，意思大概是说：“凡人哪，你们中间那个像苏格拉底这样的人，是最智慧的，他承认自 己在智慧方面实际上毫无价值。” 所以我到现在还在到处奔波，还在按照神的意旨检验我认为智慧的每一个人，不管他是本邦 公民还是外邦侨民。如果我发觉他并不智慧，我就协助神指出他不是智慧的人。由于这项工 作很忙，所以我没有余暇去参加政治活动，也没有工夫去料理自己的私事。如今我一贫如洗