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? ? THE
WORKS OF
PLATO ABRIDG'D.
WITH
An AccountofhisLife, Philoso phy, Morals, and Politicks.
Together with a Translation of hischoicestDialogues, vi%9
rWhatoneoughttodo. 0f. )ImmortalityoftheSou/,
1 ^Valour, Philosophy.
InTwa Volumes. Illustrated with Notes. By M . D A C 1 E R.
Translated from the Frcnek VOL. IL
LONDON;
Printedfor A. Bell, at the Cross-Keys and Bible Cornhi//, nearStocks-Market, 1701.
? L
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v. . _>"/ -. v~
i&J
. . j. t'a.
ojiqcp ? ? ! -. ;-. . ;? ? ? *'? V^
\/y,\\r \}yi v. \ nr--y /. ':? ;? -? ;-? ;u;r>>-
\rroA
? ? THE
INTRODUCTION to
SOCRATES** Apology.
IN EutyphronWelawhowSocratesattack'dthe'
Superstition of the Athenians and the plurali
ty of their Gods, by exposing the ridiculous
ness of the Fables with which their Divinity Was sturPd? ,and by that means endeavouring td
bring'emtotheknowledgeofthetrueGod. They were a People devoted to Idolatry, and always up on their guard against Innovationsj witness thai A&s oftheApostles, where we feetheAthenians,
who were disturb'd at the preaching ofSt.
Paul,
cry'd out, Hefeemeth tobe asetterforth ofstrangeGh. i3M& Gods. NowaPeoplethusdisposed,couldnotbut
be alarm'd by a Doctrine lo opposite to their Er rors. Butthatwasnotthefirstibringoftheirha tredofSocrates. TheVertueandgenerousLiberty of that wife Man procur'd him many secret Ene mies,who, inordertoget ridofapublicsCensor
that always twitted them with their Vices, decry'd him underhand, as being. an impious Fellow, that meddled withsuspectedSciences,and taughttheway ofpromotingInjustice. Aristophaneswasthemolt serviceable Instrument in spreading that Calumny. - His Comedy of the Clouds had such an absolute in fluenceuponthePeople,thatitmov'dthemtore ceivetheAcculationbrought againstthisPhilosopher' more than twenty Years after^ branding him lot a profligateWretelithatintroduc'dnewDeities. The!
A a 2 Causel
? ? the Introduction to Socrates'* Apology.
Cause being formally brought to a Trial, Socrates was oblig'dto appear before his Judges, and answer thosetwo sortsofAccusers. 'Twasaboveallupon thisOccasion,as beingthelastact:ofhisLife, that he admirablykeptup theCharacterofanancient Philosopher, endow'd with a divine Spirit, and a consummate Wisdom ; who never did an unadvis'd Action,norspokesomuchasoneWordamiss. Even Death it self, when threatned and presented to his view, could not oblige him to depart one mi nute" from the Paths of Ver$ue and Justice. He
speaks downright of his Innocence, and does not stoop to the cowardly base methods of begging Votes,thatwere theninuse. Heemploysneither the Artifice nor Varnish of human Eloquence : He has no recourse to Supplications and Tears, he do's not bring his Wife and Children to soften the JudgeswiththeirGroansandLamentations. His
Defence do's not savour of any thing that's cringing, cowardly, base or little: His Discourse is high, m a s culine, generous, and becoming the liberty of a Phi losopher. HegaveinhisDefenceswithsomuch
plainness and simplicity, that some ofthe Ancients tookoccasion fromthence tofay,Thathedidnot clearhimselfoftheCharge. 'Tistrue,hedidnot speakasPersonsupontheirTrialus'dtodo. He contented himself with speaking to the Judges as h e us'd to d o in c o m m o n discourse, a n d w i t h p r o p o sing some Questions to his Accusers. So that his Part was rather a familiar Discourse, than a study'd Harangue, which did not suit with his Genius. H o w ever, eventhis hiscarelessApology, was trueand tothepurpose. P/ate,whowasthenpresent,after wardsgather'ditinto aBody;andwithoutadding any thing to the Truth, form'd it into a Discourse,
. set off with an Eloquence, almost Divine-, which, to my mind,do'sinfinitelysurpassalltheMaster-Pieces of that nature yet known. No other Work can shew so much Candor and Ingenuity, joyn'd with 16much Force. But,afterall,themolt admirable
. . . thing
? ? the IntroduElion to Socrates /*Apologjs,
thing in this Discourse, is not its Eloquence, but the"
fine Sentiments 'tis full of. Here Generosity, Rea
son, Piety and Justice, are display'd with all their S p l e n d o r ? , a n d t h e M a x i m s s c a t t e r ' d h e r e a n d t h e r e
may justly be reckon'd Sacred. Who would not
wonder at this Lesion of Socrates ? viz. That a Pri soner arraignedought nottomake ithis business to
raise the Pity os the fudge, that he ought to affeS him by his Reasons. and not by his Requests', and procure
an Absolution by suffice and not by favour : For a Judge is not placed on the Bench to oblige People by
violating the Laws ; but to do Justice pursuant to them. Heswearstothispurpose;andhisOathought tobeinviolable. NowanhonestManshouldnotsoli' cit his Judge to be guilty oj Perjury ; and a Judge-
shouldnotsufferhimselftobeinveigled. Else,two innocent Persons will become two Criminals. He teachesthatanhonestManoughtalwaystostand to his Post, let the impending Danger be never so great; that he ought to obey hisSuperiors,and part withhisLifewhentheydemandit. for,fayshe, there's nothing more criminal andscandalous, than to disobeySuperior Powers, whetherGodorMan. He teaches us not to fear Death; but Shame, which pursuesMen moreswiftlythanDeath itself. He is of Opinion that our ordinary Exercise should be, discoursing of Vertue, and putting our selves to the test of its Rules-, for a Life without examination, is noLifeatall. Inoneword, thisApology isaper
fectModelofthedueConductofanhonestMan in all theConditionsofLife,and especially ofthe manner how a Person unjustly accus'd ought to deT fend himself.
Several Persons who assisted in the Court upon this Occasion , drew up Socrates's Apology ; in which every one produe'd the Arguments that oc-
curr'd to his memory, or those that affected him most ; and all of 'em kept true to the lofty and magnanimous Temper ofthis Philosopher. After gil the rest, Xenophon compil'd one upon the rela-
Aa3 tion
? ? (f
The IntroduSiionto Socrates'* Apology.
%\ono? *Hermogenesjib. eSon of Hipponicusfothe him*
selfwas not then at Athens. Time has robb'd us
of 'em all, except Plate's and Xenaphorfs ; But 'tis
apparent, thattheone oftheseis much shortof
the other. In the first we meet with all the force
of the greatest Disciple of Socrates, a Disciple that ? was preient, and comes near to the true Original :
Whereas the other presents us with the hand of a from thmceDisciple that was absent, and goes upon an imper- ye^eM,tectCopy, However,eventhisimperfectCopy,is
phoQifhUfevidence that the Passages related by Plato are true* Socrates forXenophondo'snotonlygouponthefameIdea's tnUjspoke ofMings,butlikewiseassuresusthatSocratesspoke inthtffa- as he fdys h? did.
t""*' De butobserve,faysMontagne, bywhatReasons Bootj, SocratesrousesuphisCouragetothehazardsofWar,' jphap. w, withwhatArgumentshefortifieshisPatienceagainst
Calumny, Tyranny and-Death. Tauwillfindnothing inallthisborrowedfromArtsandSciences. Thesim-
flestmaytherediscerntheirown MeansandPower, 'Tis not pojfible more to retire, or to creep more low. He hasdonehumanNatureagreatkindness,inshew ing it how much it can do of itself His Plea is plain andpuerile, but of an unimaginable height, and of fer'dinthelastextremity. Hiswayofarguingis squallyadmirableforitsSimplicityanditsforce. *Tif pn easier matter tospeak like Aristotle, and live like Cesar,thantospeakandlive,asSocratesdid. Here lies the greatest Difficulty, ana the last degree of Per- jeffion,thatnoArtcanimprove, ? '. ;,, ? .
But before I launch into the Apology,'twill be ne cessary to fay something of the Familiar Spirit that g o v e r n ' d S o c r a t e s , w h i c h h a s m a d e s o m u c h N o i s e iri theWorld. Somelook'duponitasChimaraand Fiction-, others gave very different Accounts of it.
Tis needless to observe that the Opinion of Pla~ to,assigning to every Man from hisvery Birth a- particular Genius or Angel totake Care of him, 19 a Ray of the Truth taught in the Holy Scriptures, where we hear of Men conducted by Angels,
and
? ? the InWodn&ion To SocratesV Apology? %
andJesusChristhimselfsaying,that/fo angels oflittle Childrendofee thefaceofGodinHeaven withoutin terruption. That cannot be questions. Upon which
Account Origen uses those as Calumniators, who htlx&h wouldbrandthe Familiar ofSocratesforaFable. Bookagainst A certainProof,thathewastrulyguidedbyagoodCelsus.
Genius, is that all his Life long he was Pious, T e m perate, and Just j that in all Cases he always joyn'd in with the right side-, that he never injur'd any Man jthathealways proclaim'dWar againstVice, and attack'd false Religions ; that the whole Busi nessofhisLifewastomake Men moreHonest,and acquaint 'em with Truth and Justice.
The only Difficultyis,toknow how thisFami
liargave him tounderstand itsmeaning, and what
wasthenatureofthatdivineVoice. DoubtlessIn- ipirationwas themanner ofconveyance. And Plu-In*h'. L! {e
xarch naturally leads us to that Thought, where he nus
ipeaks of the Miracles recounted in Homer, who
oftentimes introduces Deities coming to succour
Men, and to inspire them with the knowledge of
what they ought to do or avoid. His words are
these. WemusteitherdenytheDeitytheTitleofaHerepiu-
tnoving Cause, or any Principle of our Operations-, or tarch<<o<*, elseown thaiithasnootherway ofsuccouringMen'"&yi"&
andco-operatingwiththem,thanbycallingupand*^^"TM
determining the Will; by the Idea's it conveys into us. tothemeans
for itdo'snotpush orattuponourBodies;itinflu-h >>'>>'<* encesneitherourHandsnorourfeet:ButbyVer-? may.
tue of certain Principles and Ideas, which it calls up slTtheTM"- voithinus,itstirsup theAttiveVacuityofourSoul,mark>>/>>>>> and eitherpushes on our Will, or else checks it andthatTaf-'.
turns itanother way. ,/"? '* But some will object, That at this rate it was notaVoice. ItwasaVoice;thatis,animpression
upon the imaginative Faculty of the Soul : Such as happens often while one's asleep, and sometimes when awakejwhen one fansies thathe hearsand fees, tho' at the fame time he hears nothing and seesaslittle. ThiswastheOpinionthatPlutarth
A a 4 enter-
? ? 8| she IntroAu&mtQ Socrates'* Ap}o%j\
1>>hutrtA-entertantU. Forhefays,thatSocrateswasaMan *jf'_? ('h? (. of a clear Head; of an eafie and calm Tern?
perVthatis,hewasnotrnoy'dbyTroublenordis quietedby Passion? >and,consequently,wasentirely
dispos'd to listen to the suggestions of that Genius^ which by Vertue of its Light alone influenced the un derstanding part of the Soul, and made the fame Im pression upon it, that,a Voice do's after it has pafs'd throughtheOrganscjftheBody. TwasthisVoice that timer so admirably' describes, when, speaking of the Dream that came upon Agamemnon^ he fays, that a divine Voicesurrounded him.
ThereisyetanotherDifficultybehind. Tis,why this Voice had only the Power of diverting Socrates from things, and never'egg'd him on to any thing-
for Marc'ilius Yicinus is certainly out, in pretending
to give such a mysterious Account of the matter, as
if the Genius or Socrates never push'd him on, ber
cause he was not of a Martial Spirit, and always,
dissuaded him becausehe wasnatqrally heavy-,as
iftheDivineBeing hadonlygiven. himtheLightto
deny,andnotteaffirm. This1$thewaytoelude
the Argument by splitting upon greater Difficulties^
or pinning the Controverne upon idle and frivolous
distinctions. The more reasonable and natural ac
count of the matter, is, that Socrates was vertuous
to the last degree, and always bent to take up with
w h a t e v e r h e t o o k t o b e f a i r a n d h o n e s t -, t h a t u p o n ,
other scores he had no business to mind but to live
asimplqanduniformLife,andconsequentlyhad no
pther occasion but to be reserv'd and backwards
when his Reason offer'd to solicit him either to pass afalseJudgmentortostepawrongStep. ? "
IntheLatin Translationsthis Apologyiscover'd with Obscurity, because the'Translators have not taken care to divide it, and did' not perceive that it was made atthreeseveraltimes,whicharedistinctly pointed to, in the Translation I now present you
with. : - i *
THE
? ? THE
APOLOGY OF
SQ CRATES
I Knownot,Athenians,whatImpressionthe Harangues of my Accusers have made upon you. Formypart,Iown,thattheyhaveal mostmademeforgetmy selfjsoartfullyare
theirReasonscolour'dandsetoff. Andyet,Ican assure you, they have not spoke one word of Truth. ButofalltheirCalumnies,tbatwhich surprizesme
most, is. That they counsel you to beware of being seduc'dbymyEloquence,*andendeavourtowork youintoagreatOpinionofit. Forcertainlyitis the height ofImpudence, not tofearthe'sliame of havingtheLyegiventhem;whichIamabouttodo, by shewing that I a m not at all Eloquent,un. less they callhitnEloquentwho canspeaknothingbutthe Truth. IfthatbetheirPlea,Iownmyselfagreat O r a t o r , b u t n o t a f t e r t h e i r f a s h i o n -, f o r I o n c e m o r e tell you, that they have not spoke one word of Truth:AridIamnowabouttodiscovertoyouthe. naked Truth, in common and simple Expressions, without the Ornaments of the quaint Turns and pkk'd Terms that setofftheirDiscourses. For I have this confidence in rny self, that I speak the
*They cry'duphisEloquence, inordertoaggravatethe Injustice they charg'd upon him ; alledging,thathe confound edtheIdea'sofJustice,,andtaughttheway ofputtingagood
j ace upon bad Causes.
<*;'? . ,, ; Truth,
? ? xo
she Apology of Socrates?
Troth, and none of you ought to expect any thing elsefrom me-, and it wou'd be very unsuitable for oneofmy Agetocomebeforeyou,likeaSchool-Boy, with a ftudy'd Harangue upon a fabulous Subject.
Wherefore the only Favour I desire and beg of
yotj, is,that when you findmy Defences givenin
the most ordinary and common terms and ways of
expression,suchasIam alwayswonttomakeuse
ofinmyordinaryInterviewswithyouontheEx
change and publick Banks, and the other Places
where Ius'd"tomeet you often;my requestis, that when" ye find it so, ye wou'd not be surprised
or incens'dagainst me, forIam abouttotellyou the matter of Fact just as it stands.
Tho' Iam nowseventyYearsold,yetthisisthe first time that ever Ienter'd this Hall:Iam a stranger to it, unacquainted with its Language and Customs. NowwereIaForeigner,youwou'drea dilygrantmethefavourofgivinginmyDefences inthe language and manner ofmy own Country. In like manner I n o w beg of you, as a stranger to this Hall, and I think my Petition isjust, that you'd grant me the fame Favour, and overlook my ways of expression,Which perhaps are not so good as others; tho*,afterall,itispossibletheymay bebet ter,andonlytomind whetherIspeakjustlyornot$ forthatoughttobethechiefviewofaJudge,as the greatest Vertue of an Orator consists in speaking nothing; but the Truth.
' Tis but reasonable that I shou'd first begin to an s w e r t h e C h a r g e s o f m y first A c c u s e r s , a n d a f t e r w a r d s comeupWiththelatterintheirorder:For1have had a great many Accusers before this Court these several Years, and all of 'em have advanc'd nothing butwhat'sfalse. "Iam moreafraidofmyoldAc cusers, than of Anyrus and his Complices. It is true, the latter display a great deal of Eloquence -, but the others are the more to be redoubted, since they accosted you from your Infancy, and wheedled you into a beliefof what Calumnies they pleased.
They
? ? the Afohty of Socrates: fcg
They told you, there was one Socrates a wise. Man, that inquir'd into the actions of the Heavens and the hidden Treasures in the bosom of the Earth * who# has such a dexterous Way of perplexing tha Ide'as of Justice and Truth* that he can make a bad Cause a good one.
TheMen who spreadthosefalseRumorsaremy most dangerous Enemies ; for those who listen to their Surmises, are over-persuaded that Philosophers takenupwithsuchInquiries,believenoGods. Be sides,theseAccusers are verynumerous, and they have hada long whiletoconcerttheirPlot;they are now very ancient, and took occasion to prepos sess you with that Opinion, in an Age that generally is too credulous; For you were then but Infants for the most part, or at most in the first Years of your Youth,when theylaidtheirAccusationagainst me before you,andcarrieditonattheirownleisure, without any opposition : And, which isyet more un just,Iamnotallow'dtoknowmyAccusers. They
get off with setting up a Comcedian at the head of
the Charge, while a1. those who through Envy or
Malice have wrought you into a belief of these
Falshoods, and continue still underhand to throw the f a m e C a l u m n i e s a b o u t ? , t h e s e M e n , I l a y , a r e a l
low'd to lie concealed : So that I have neither the power of calling them to Account before you, nor the pleasure of refuting them in your presence ; and theonlywayofdefendingmy self,is,tofightwitha Shadow, and speak against I do not know whom.
Wherefore consider, Athenians, thatIam now to encounter two forts of Accusers, those who ar- raign'dme agreatwhile agone,and thesewhosum- m o n ' d m e l a t e l y ? , a n d I e n t r e a t y o u t o b e l i e v e t h a t
I lie under a necessity of giving in m y Answers im mediately to thefirstsort.
Now isthetimethen,thatIamtodefendmy self, and in so short a space of time,I am to endea vourtorootout ofyourMinds aCalumnythatyou
have entertain'd a long while, and which has ta- 'i;:; ,? :. . ,,-. '' ken
? ? 'pk.
the Apology of Socrates. "
kendeeprootinthem. IwishwithallmyHeart
thatmy DefencescouldpromoteyourAdvantageas
wellasmy own,andthatmy Apologymightserve
some more important Design, than that ofjustifying
m y self: But I perceive the Difficulties that lie in theway? ,andamnotsoblind,asnottosee,where
allthisBustlewillterminate. God'sWillbedone. My businessis to obey the Law and defendmy self
T o r e t u r n t o t h e first O r i g i n a l o f t h e C h a r g e , u p .
on which Iam so much decry'd, and which inspir'd
M e l i t u s w i t h a b o l d n e s s t o a r r a i g n m e b e f o r e y o u -y
let'sfeewhatwas thePleaofthesemyfirstAccu
sers : * For their Charge must be put into Form, as
ifitwerewrit,andAffidavitsmade. 'Tisthis:So
crates isanimpiousMan :Withacriminalcuriosity
hepretends topenetrate into all thatpasses in the Heavens, and tofathom what's contained in the Bow
elsoftheEarth. HehasthewayofgivingtheAs cendant to Injustice? ,andis notcontent toreserve
these Secrets to himself but communicates them to ethers.
ThisistheAccusation:TheHeadsofwhichyou have seen in the Comedy of Aristophanes, where one Socrates is represented as hung up in a Basket, gi ving out that he walks upon the Winds ; with many other such famish Advances. Now these are Se crets that I am altogether astranger to^ I never
gave my Mind to these sublime Sciences: Not that I despise them, or contemn those w h o are well vers'd in'em,ifany such therebe,lestMelitusshou'd thereupon charge me with new Crimes : I wou'd only give you to know that I never meddled with these Sciences, as most of you can witness.
Since ye have so often convers'd with me, and that
* Socrates treats the Calumnies of Aristophanes and his first Enemies,asifitwereajustCharge formallypresentedupon Oath ; for both the Accuser and the Prisoner were oblig'd to ftvear, that they wou'd advance nothing but Truth : And this they call'd *>7Mct? e/<j, . . . . . . . .
there
? ? the Apology of SocratesC i|
thereissognatanumberofyouwhoknowme,I conjure you to declare if ever ye heard m e speak of * thesethings,eitherdirectlyorindirectly. Thismay furnish you with certain Evidence, that all the other Articlesofmy IndictmentareofaPiecewiththis^ asbeingdownrightUntruths. Andifeveryouheard
that I either taught, or requir'd a Reward for so do* ing,I'll Justine it to be a downright Calumny.
NotthatIdisparagethose,who arecapabletoin struct and teach Men, such as Gorgias of Leontr, ProdicusofCeos,andHippiasofEUa. Forthese great Men have a wonderful Talent of persuading and retaining all the Youth of whatever City they go to ; young Men that might apply themselves to which of their own Country-men they have a mind to,without any Charge, are so influenc'd by them, that they quit their own Country-men, and adhere to them only, paying round Sums, and acknowledg
ing infinite Obligations besides. I have likewise heard, that there's yet another very ingenious Master inthisCity,whocamefromPavos;forImethim to'therdayintheHouseofaManthatspendsmore upon Sophisters, than all the other Citizens put to gether, I mean Callias : Where happening to speak
ofCaltias'stwoSons,Iaddress'dmy selftohimin this fashion j Had you two young Horses, wou'd notyou want toputthem intotheHandsofsome skilful Man, and pay him well, for making them handibm, and giving them all the good qualities they ought to have ? And would not this skilful M a n be some good Groom oranexpertHusbandman> Now youhavetwoChildren,whatMasterhaveyou pitch'duponforthem? WhomhaveweinTown, that's well vers'd in human and political Vertues ? For doubtless you have consider'd that Question al ready,upontheaccountofyourChildren. Tellme then ifyou know of any ? Yes, doubtless, reply'd "Callias. Whoisit,said15whatCountryisheof;
and what are his demands ? 'Tis Evenus, reply'd he, *fromPavos;Hedemandst5Minx. WhereuponIWJh
told0TM""'
? ? | $
The Apology of Socrates
toldtutti,Evenus washappy,providingitwas true thatheknew theArt,andcou'dimpartittoothers.
,. As for mei Gentlemen, were I possels'd of such
Endowments, I shou'd be proud of 'em, and glory in
them:Butsatinismy misfortune, IhavenoTitle
tothem. Iperceiveyou'llbereadytoreply,*But
what haveye done then, Socrates, and what occasion? d these Calumnies you are charged with? Had you ne
verdonemorethanyourfellow Citizens,normeddled withfurtherbusiness,these Reportsofyouwou'dne ver have had a being. Tell us therefore how the matterstands, that we may notpass an unadvisedSen- tence. This,Itakeit,is ajustObjection:Where fore 111 endeavour to lay before you the occasion of
jmy being so much decry'd and talk'd of. <Give ear to me, and assure your selves that 111 speak nothing
but Truths
ThedisreputeIlieunder,isonly occasion'dbya
fortofWiidom withinme. ButwhatisthisWis dom ? Perhaps *tis merely human Prudence, for I tun a great risk of being possels'd of none else 5 whereas those Men I mention'd but now, are wile above above a human pitch.