Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus bids or not as Anytus bids, and either acquit me or not but whatever you do, know that I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times. But if anyone says that this is not my teaching, he is speaking an untruth. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, my influence is ruinous indeed. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue come money and every other good of man, public as well as private. For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons and your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. For this is the command of God, as I would have you know: and I believe that to this day no greater good has ever happened in the state than my service to the God. And this I should say to everyone whom I meet, young and old, citizen and alien, but especially to the citizens, inasmuch as they are my brethren. Men of Athens, I honor and love you but I shall obey God rather than you and, while I have life and strength, I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet after my manner, and convincing him saying: O my friend, why do you who are a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? Are you not Ashamed of this? And if the person with whom I am arguing says: Yes, but I do care I do not depart or let him go at once I interrogate and examine and cross-examine him, and if I think that he has no virtue, but only says that he has, I reproach him with undervaluing the greater, and overvaluing the less. In defending himself against the unjust charges of his accusers, Socrates says:
In the Apology, Plato recounts the foundational speech of Socrates (whether factual or his own creation) in defending the importance of the philosopher's - or anyone's - right to stand up for their personal convictions against the opinion of society. As Euthyphro clearly and ardently believes in the gods of Greece, and as Socrates soundly shows him that his beliefs are inconsistent and incomplete, the dialogue illustrates what could have been meant by the charge of "corrupting the youth".
#PLATO WORK TIMER TRIAL#
Perhaps it was Plato's intention to show why Socrates would have been put on trial in the first place, since the young fundamentalist, Euthyphro, is hardly hurting anyone with his beliefs and, no doubt, the case he brings against his own father would have been thrown out of court. Plato's Euthyphro, however often overlooked, sets the stage for Apology while also providing the reader with another glimpse into the values Socrates may have held and the way in which he went about teaching these values. The Apology is considered universally as the beginning of western philosophy.
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