19a8–20c2 Flashcards
Ἀναλάβωμεν οὖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τίς ἡ κατηγορία ἐστὶν ἐξ ἧς ἡ ἐμὴ διαβολὴ γέγονεν, ᾗ δὴ καὶ πιστεύων Μέλητός με ἐγράψατο τὴν γραφὴν ταύτην. εἶεν· τί δὴ λέγοντες διέβαλλον οἱ διαβάλλοντες; ὥσπερ οὖν κατηγόρων τὴν ἀντωμοσίαν δεῖ ἀναγνῶναι αὐτῶν· “Σωκράτης ἀδικεῖ καὶ | περιεργάζεται ζητῶν τά τε ὑπὸ γῆς καὶ οὐράνια καὶ τὸν ἥττω λόγον κρείττω ποιῶν καὶ ἄλλους ταὐτὰ ταῦτα διδάσκων.” τοιαύτη τίς ἐστιν· ταῦτα γὰρ ἑωρᾶτε καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀριστοφάνους κωμῳδίᾳ, Σωκράτη τινὰ ἐκεῖ περιφερόμενον, φάσκοντά τε ἀεροβατεῖν καὶ ἄλλην πολλὴν φλυαρίαν φλυαροῦντα, | ὧν ἐγὼ οὐδὲν οὔτε μέγα οὔτε μικρὸν πέρι ἐπαΐω.
Now, let us take up from the beginning, what is the accusation from which the slander against me began, which Melatos indeed relied on in bringing this indictment. Well now, what slander did my accusers say? So, just as it is necessary to accurately know their written statement, it is necessary to accurately know that of the accusers. ‘Socrates is wrong and meddles by investigating the things that go by the ground and sky and making weak arguments stronger and teaching others the same things.’ It is something like this. For you have seen these things yourselves in Aritstotle’s comedy, a certain Socrates swinging around there, claiming to talk on air and uttering many other nonsensical things, nothing about which I understand either great or small.
πιστεύων goes with Melatos
ἐγράψατο τὴν γραφὴν ταύτην - lit indicted me this indictment
ἄλλους ταὐτὰ ταῦτα διδάσκων - teaching others the same things (ταὐτὰ ταῦτα = τα αὐτα ταυτα)
αὐτοὶ - when nom. it refers back to subject (so not nec 3rd person)
καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἀτιμάζων λέγω τὴν τοιαύτην ἐπιστήμην, εἴ τις περὶ τῶν τοιούτων σοφός ἐστιν—μή πως ἐγὼ ὑπὸ Μελήτου τοσαύτας δίκας φεύγοιμι—ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐμοὶ τούτων, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, οὐδὲν μέτεστιν. μάρτυρας δὲ αὖ ὑμῶν τοὺς πολλοὺς παρέχομαι, καὶ ἀξιῶ ὑμᾶς ἀλλήλους διδάσκειν τε καὶ φράζειν, ὅσοι ἐμοῦ πώποτε ἀκηκόατε διαλεγομένου—πολλοὶ δὲ ὑμῶν οἱ τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν—φράζετε οὖν ἀλλήλοις εἰ | πώποτε ἢ μικρὸν ἢ μέγα ἤκουσέ τις ὑμῶν ἐμοῦ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων διαλεγομένου, καὶ ἐκ τούτου γνώσεσθε ὅτι τοιαῦτ’ ἐστὶ καὶ τἆλλα περὶ ἐμοῦ ἃ οἱ πολλοὶ λέγουσιν.
And I do not say this to dishonour knowledge of this kind, if someone is wise in such things, I hope I am not prosecuted by Melatos on so great a charge, but as far as I’m concerned, gentlemen, there is nothing for me to share in it. I bring forward many of you as witnesses, and I expect you to teach and tell each other, as many of you who have heard me in discussion, and many of you are of this kind, now tell the others if any of you ever heard anything small or great from me discussing such things, and from this believe that the other things about me which many people say are of this sort.
μη… φεύγοιμι - opt. of wish
Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὔτε τούτων οὐδέν ἐστιν, οὐδέ γ’ εἴ τινος ἀκηκόατε ὡς ἐγὼ παιδεύειν ἐπιχειρῶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ χρήματα πράττομαι, οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀληθές. ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦτό γέ μοι δοκεῖ καλὸν εἶναι, εἴ τις οἷός τ’ εἴη παιδεύειν ἀνθρώπους ὥσπερ Γοργίας τε ὁ Λεοντῖνος καὶ Πρόδικος ὁ Κεῖος καὶ Ἱππίας ὁ Ἠλεῖος. τούτων γὰρ ἕκαστος, ὦ ἄνδρες, | οἷός τ’ ἐστὶν ἰὼν εἰς ἑκάστην τῶν πόλεων τοὺς νέους, οἷς ἔξεστι τῶν ἑαυτῶν πολιτῶν προῖκα συνεῖναι ᾧ ἂν βούλωνται τούτους πείθουσι τὰς ἐκείνων συνουσίας ἀπολιπόντας σφίσιν συνεῖναι χρήματα διδόντας καὶ χάριν προσειδέναι. ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄλλος ἀνήρ ἐστι Πάριος ἐνθάδε σοφὸς ὃν ἐγὼ ᾐσθόμην ἐπιδημοῦντα· ἔτυχον γὰρ προσελθὼν ἀνδρὶ ὃς | τετέλεκε χρήματα σοφισταῖς πλείω ἢ σύμπαντες οἱ ἄλλοι, Καλλίᾳ τῷ Ἱππονίκου·
For none of this is true, nor if you had heard from someone that I try to educate men and make money for myself, but none of this is true. Though it seems good to me to be a beautiful thing, if someone is able to teach men just as Georgias from Leontini and Prodicus from Ceos and Hippias from Elis. For each of these men, gentlemen, is able to go into each of the cities and to the young men, they can go to each of the cities and persuade the young men, who are able to be taught free of charge by anyone they wish, to leave the company of others to mix with them, they give their money and are grateful besides. And when there was another man here from Paros, a wise man, whom I learnt was staying here, for I happened, by coincidence, to be visiting a man of who had paid more money to sophists than all other men, called Callias son of Hipponicus.
τοῦτον οὖν ἀνηρόμην—ἐστὸν γὰρ αὐτῷ δύο ὑεῖ— “Ὦ Καλλία,” ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, “εἰ μέν σου τὼ ὑεῖ πώλω ἢ μόσχω ἐγενέσθην, εἴχομεν ἂν αὐτοῖν ἐπιστάτην λαβεῖν καὶ μισθώσασθαι ὃς ἔμελλεν αὐτὼ καλώ τε κἀγαθὼ ποιήσειν τὴν προσήκουσαν ἀρετήν· ἦν δ’ ἂν οὗτος ἢ τῶν ἱππικῶν τις ἢ τῶν γεωργικῶν· νῦν δ’ ἐπειδὴ ἀνθρώπω ἐστόν, τίνα αὐτοῖν ἐν νῷ ἔχεις ἐπιστάτην λαβεῖν; τίς τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρετῆς, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης τε καὶ πολιτικῆς, | ἐπιστήμων ἐστίν; οἶμαι γάρ σε ἐσκέφθαι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑέων κτῆσιν.
And so, I asked him – for he had two sons, ‘Callias,’ I said, ‘if your two sons happened to be colts or calves, we would have been able to find and hired an overseer for them whose job it would be to make them fine and good with respect to their appropriate excellence, for he would be either of horses or farming. But since they are humans, who do you have in mind to take as an overseer? Who is there with a knowledge of this kind of virtue, who is both human and a citizen? For I imagine that you have looked into this on account of having two sons.
ἔστιν τις,” ἔφην ἐγώ, “ἢ οὔ;” “Πάνυ γε,” ἦ δ’ ὅς. “Τίς,” ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, “καὶ ποδαπός, καὶ πόσου διδάσκει;” “Εὔηνος,” ἔφη, “ὦ Σώκρατες, Πάριος, πέντε μνῶν.” καὶ ἐγὼ τὸν Εὔηνον ἐμακάρισα εἰ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔχοι ταύτην τὴν τέχνην καὶ οὕτως ἐμμελῶς διδάσκει. ἐγὼ γοῦν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκαλλυνόμην τε καὶ ἡβρυνόμην ἂν εἰ ἠπιστάμην ταῦτα· ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ ἐπίσταμαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι.
‘If there anyone or not?’ I said. ‘Certainly,’ he replied. ‘Who? Where is from, and how much does he teach for?’ ‘Evenus, Socrates. He is from Paros, and charges five minas.’ And I bless Evenus if in reality he has this skill and teaches for a reasonable price in this way. At least, I would be proud myself and be conceited if I understood these things, but in fact I do not, gentlemen.
