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Article AnOAOriA 2QKPAT0YS, ← Page 4 of 8 →
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Anoaoria 2qkpat0ys,
and , fearing much more to live disgraced and dishonoured in the opinion of his friends , immediately exclaimed , " I would rather die inflicting a just vengeance upon an unjust man than live to become a laughing-stock among the high-beaked ships—and a degraded outcast upon the earth . '" Do you imagine , my friend , he had not reflected upon death ? Thusin factAtheniansyou have my sentiments ; thatin whatever
, , , , situation a man may be placed by circumstances , either by his own choice , or by the commands of a superior , it behoves him to discharge the duties of that situation with fidelity and fortitude , however hazardous the event , regarding nothing—neither persecution nor death—¦ nothing—except dishonor ! Should I not , Athenians , have committed a heavy , if net treasonable offence , if , when I was posted at some particular position by the generals whom you had appointed to command
me at I'otidtea , at Amphipolis , and at Deleeum , I had not , as any other soldier would have done , risked my life to maintain the post I was ordered to keep ? Much more , then , when the Deity assigned to me a sphere in which I conceived it to be my duty to pursue the study of Wisdom—to live up to its . principles—and to examine myself and others by its sacred rules—did it become me not to desert my vocation from any apprehension of death . Had I done so , the consequences would indeed be terrif ying , and with justice might any one have dragged me before this tribunal ; because my conduct would have been evidence sufficient that I did not believe in the gods , being uninfluenced
by the inspired evocation of the oracle , dreading death , and pretending to he a philosopher when I was not . For , to fear to die , Athenians , is nothing more nor less than seeming to be wise when you are not . It is pretending to understand what is not understood by you . Indeed , no :: " one has yet apprehended whether Death shall hereafter prove the greatest of all good to a man ; and they onl y fear it who well know it will prove to them the greatest of all evils . How much then is not such ignorance to he censured wherein a
man supposes himself to understand what he does not understand . But , Athenians , I am perhaps adducing an argument here to the prejudice of a large body of men ; and should I assert that I am wiser on this head than any one else , I might perhaps give room to attach some such construction as this to my words , —that , when I have not made myself sufficiently acquainted with the matters on which our present discussion rests , I had supplied myself with every information upon it .
Now , I have learnt these two principles of Wisdom , —thatit is wicked and hurtful to commit an unjust action , and equally foolish not to be persuaded by a revelation from the Deity , or by the reasoning of a man who is my superior in knowledge . Neither will I ever fear pursuing what I know to be good and righteous in preference to what I know to be evil . So that , if you even now acquit me , —not being guided by Anytus , who said that it behoved the council to summon me hither , and , when I came , that it behoved you to condemn me to death , asseverating that , should 1 he allowed to escape , your sons , who follow the dogmas which Socrates teaches , would all be corrupted : I say , if even
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anoaoria 2qkpat0ys,
and , fearing much more to live disgraced and dishonoured in the opinion of his friends , immediately exclaimed , " I would rather die inflicting a just vengeance upon an unjust man than live to become a laughing-stock among the high-beaked ships—and a degraded outcast upon the earth . '" Do you imagine , my friend , he had not reflected upon death ? Thusin factAtheniansyou have my sentiments ; thatin whatever
, , , , situation a man may be placed by circumstances , either by his own choice , or by the commands of a superior , it behoves him to discharge the duties of that situation with fidelity and fortitude , however hazardous the event , regarding nothing—neither persecution nor death—¦ nothing—except dishonor ! Should I not , Athenians , have committed a heavy , if net treasonable offence , if , when I was posted at some particular position by the generals whom you had appointed to command
me at I'otidtea , at Amphipolis , and at Deleeum , I had not , as any other soldier would have done , risked my life to maintain the post I was ordered to keep ? Much more , then , when the Deity assigned to me a sphere in which I conceived it to be my duty to pursue the study of Wisdom—to live up to its . principles—and to examine myself and others by its sacred rules—did it become me not to desert my vocation from any apprehension of death . Had I done so , the consequences would indeed be terrif ying , and with justice might any one have dragged me before this tribunal ; because my conduct would have been evidence sufficient that I did not believe in the gods , being uninfluenced
by the inspired evocation of the oracle , dreading death , and pretending to he a philosopher when I was not . For , to fear to die , Athenians , is nothing more nor less than seeming to be wise when you are not . It is pretending to understand what is not understood by you . Indeed , no :: " one has yet apprehended whether Death shall hereafter prove the greatest of all good to a man ; and they onl y fear it who well know it will prove to them the greatest of all evils . How much then is not such ignorance to he censured wherein a
man supposes himself to understand what he does not understand . But , Athenians , I am perhaps adducing an argument here to the prejudice of a large body of men ; and should I assert that I am wiser on this head than any one else , I might perhaps give room to attach some such construction as this to my words , —that , when I have not made myself sufficiently acquainted with the matters on which our present discussion rests , I had supplied myself with every information upon it .
Now , I have learnt these two principles of Wisdom , —thatit is wicked and hurtful to commit an unjust action , and equally foolish not to be persuaded by a revelation from the Deity , or by the reasoning of a man who is my superior in knowledge . Neither will I ever fear pursuing what I know to be good and righteous in preference to what I know to be evil . So that , if you even now acquit me , —not being guided by Anytus , who said that it behoved the council to summon me hither , and , when I came , that it behoved you to condemn me to death , asseverating that , should 1 he allowed to escape , your sons , who follow the dogmas which Socrates teaches , would all be corrupted : I say , if even