Accusations Abound

Hello.

We are still reading the Apology, by Plato, and the more I read, the more I think that Socrates truly is one of the wisest men to ever walk the earth, perhaps THE wisest. He talks about how there is no equal to him in page 57, Starting with the sentence that begins on the top line with “I”, going all the way down to the end of the paragraph.

The quote that really struck me from this part of the Apology that we read was on page 56, section e. “My very good friend, you are an Athenian and belong to a city which is the greatest and most famous in the world for it’s wisdom and strength. Are you not ashamed that you give you attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul.”

First, my explanation. So Socrates is saying, “You, my friend, are part of this really wonderful city of learning, a city that is FAMOUS for the knowledge here, and yet, you spend all of your time trying to make money and no time trying to find the Truth (capital “T” Truth).”

I thought that this was really important because it was like an accusation to the prosecution. It says that you are too concerned with “real” matters, physical things, and not concerned enough about the things that Socrates believes truly matter. I think that he is also subliminally accusing them of being in this wonderful city, where everything is devoted to wisdom and strength, and yet here you stand, accusing me for the very thing that makes this city so special.

This is such a wonderful piece of text!

Goodbye.