Not one of them is true. And if you have heard from anyone that I undertake to each people and charge a fee for it, that is not true either (Plato 26).hat he is a corrupter of youth, that he does not believe in the gods of Athens, and that instead he ha substituted gods of his own. Socrates denies the charges: Socrates says that the most important concern for him, and a concern that should be most important for everyone, is to search into himself and other men. He says that he has been charged with this responsibility by God, for that is the role of the philosopher. This is his manner of living, and it is his manner of living because God has said it shall be this way. Socrates makes it clear that he will obey God before he obeys his fellow man. Socrates does not plead for his life and does not accept the exile that could be his punishment for to do so would be to admit that he had done something wrong. The fact that Socrates is offered exile as a punishment shows that he judges do not want to sentence him to death, but Socrates does not want to give them this out. socrates has lived his entire life in the service of justice, and he cannot end his life with an injustice of his own making. That is what he would do if he were to take the deal he is offered and accept exile. He would be admitting wrongdoing where there is none, and he would be taking the onus for his punishment off the shoulders of his judges and taking it onto his own. Socrates wants his sons and followers to remember him as a certain type of man, and they will not be able to do this if he lies by agreeing that he should be punished. He will do nothing to hinder the cause of justice. In addition, as he has noted, he has been charged by God with the task of speaking out and of looking into the souls of his fellow man. He cannot thus stop his activities as he has been asked because to do so would be to go against a divine command. Socrates addresses the issue that he corrupts t |
