n poverty. Socrates also absolves himself of the second charge because he acknowledges his ignorance, and it is his quest for knowledge not natural science that leads him to question everything.The second set of charges stems from the answer that the oracle gives to Chaerephon, a friend of Socrates because the oracle tells Chaerephon that there is no one wiser than Socrates, and this leads him to question all of the men who are said to be wise in order to find out if the prophecy is true. He questioned the politicians, poets and artisans. His questioning humiliated the men he questioned, and this caused many of the elder men of Athens to dislike Socrates. The young men of Athens follow Socrates and they imitate his way of questioning, and in doing this they wear out the elders’ patience with Socrates. This leads three men: Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon to charge Socrates with corrupting the young and the introduction of novel gods.In defense of himself, Socrates, tells the jury that he doesn’t corrupt the young because all he does is speak and they come to listen to him, but instead he says that it is his accusers who are guilty of the corruption. Meletus says that the community educates the young men and Socrates disagrees with this argument and he draws a comparison between man and horses when he says: Does it seem to you to be so also concerning horses? That all human beings make them better while one certain one is the corrupter? Or is it wholly opposite to this that one certain one is able to make them better—or very few, those skilled with horses—while the many, if they ever associate with the horses and use them, corrupt them? Socrates then goes on to accuse Meletus of being the corrupter when he says: Of course it is, altogether so, whether you and Anytus deny or affirm it. For it would be great happiness for the young if one alone corrupts them, while the others benefit them. But in fact...
