{
    "schema": "prokopton42-public-passage-v1",
    "id": "socrates.plato_apology",
    "canonical_url": "https://prokopton42.com/en/works/plato/plato-apology/reference-30/",
    "language": "en",
    "title": "Socrates in Plato’s Apology",
    "author": "Plato",
    "date": "c. 399-390 BCE",
    "summary": "Plato’s witness stages Socrates defending a life of examination against charges of impiety and corruption. His oracle-related mission, questioning of Meletus, and refusal to flatter construct a philosophical portrait under judicial pressure.",
    "learning": "Reconstruct Socrates’ courtroom self-portrait, distinguish speaker from author, and compare philosophical mission, civic charge, and Platonic memory.",
    "long_summary": "This Socrates-centred projection follows what he says about ignorance, interlocutors, and the divine sign, then his decision not to abandon examination to save his life. Speech after conviction joins integrity, death, and hope without removing uncertainty.\n\nPlato authors the composition and Socrates is its represented speaker. The text is not a verifiable trial transcript. Its documentary force lies in close, committed memory to be compared with Xenophon and Aristophanes rather than confused with the unmediated historical Socrates.",
    "historical_context": "The corpus manifests do not yet establish the precise place and circumstances of composition. The images below document the author’s world or the text’s transmission. They do not claim to show the exact scene of writing.",
    "material_world_label": "Classical Greek world, 5th century BCE",
    "material_world": {
        "technology": "Bronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water.",
        "science": "Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments.",
        "medicine": "Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common.",
        "transport": "Walking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies.",
        "agriculture": "Small farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war.",
        "communication": "Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media.",
        "clothing": "Women and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes."
    },
    "material_world_scenes": [
        {
            "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-01.webp",
            "title": "Technology, science, and care",
            "description": "Bronze, iron, pottery, simple cranes, and shipbuilding sustain cities. Power still comes mainly from people, animals, wind, and water. Geometry, astronomy, inquiry into nature, and rational argument advance without modern measuring instruments or standardized experiments. Practitioners observe symptoms, diet, and seasons; healing sanctuaries and ritual treatment also remain common."
        },
        {
            "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-02.webp",
            "title": "Travel and communication",
            "description": "Walking and animals dominate on land. Sailing ships and triremes connect islands, ports, and colonies. Public speech, messengers, and handwritten letters carry news. Theatre, the civic square, and the banquet are major social media."
        },
        {
            "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-03.webp",
            "title": "Farming and food",
            "description": "Small farms, grain, vines, olives, goats, and sheep shape the diet; harvests remain vulnerable to weather and war."
        },
        {
            "asset": "/assets/timeline/landmarks/03-431-bce/world-04.webp",
            "title": "Clothing, women and men",
            "description": "Women and men drape wool or linen as chitons, peploi, and cloaks. Garments are pinned, belted, and shaped by status rather than tailored like modern clothes."
        }
    ],
    "intellectual_tradition": {
        "id": "platonism",
        "label": "Socratic and Platonic thought"
    },
    "period": {
        "id": "ancient",
        "label": "Antiquity"
    },
    "languages": [
        "grc",
        "en",
        "fr"
    ],
    "manifestations": [
        {
            "coverage": "complete",
            "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_apology/representations/grc.ndjson",
            "language": "grc",
            "records": 26,
            "role": "original_carrier",
            "sha256": "ba61f6f805937d28adbc38530b13850dea06153411ef45a85851fae1315c9267",
            "source_id": "perseus-plato-apology-grc"
        },
        {
            "coverage": "complete",
            "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_apology/representations/en.ndjson",
            "language": "en",
            "records": 26,
            "role": "historical_translation",
            "sha256": "49501a3b3a14b152c092a52964c861b0a412e7d38fbbc5eb73d13a64539eb316",
            "source_id": "perseus-plato-apology-en"
        },
        {
            "coverage": "complete",
            "file": "data/corpus/normalized/socrates/plato_apology/representations/fr.ndjson",
            "language": "fr",
            "records": 26,
            "role": "historical_translation",
            "sha256": "ce77352f714462f1f83fb85a224699bb6606b50388f2f16fe15123e28d8da13e",
            "source_id": "wikisource-cousin-apology-fr-01"
        }
    ],
    "concepts": [
        {
            "id": "anger",
            "label": "Anger"
        },
        {
            "id": "care_of_soul",
            "label": "Care of the soul"
        },
        {
            "id": "civic_duty",
            "label": "Civic duty"
        },
        {
            "id": "death",
            "label": "Death"
        },
        {
            "id": "elenchus",
            "label": "Elenchus"
        },
        {
            "id": "ether_field",
            "label": "Ether and field"
        },
        {
            "id": "exile",
            "label": "Exile"
        },
        {
            "id": "faith",
            "label": "Faith"
        },
        {
            "id": "family",
            "label": "Family"
        },
        {
            "id": "fear",
            "label": "Fear"
        },
        {
            "id": "god",
            "label": "God"
        },
        {
            "id": "junzi_exemplary_person",
            "label": "Junzi, exemplary person"
        },
        {
            "id": "justice",
            "label": "Justice"
        },
        {
            "id": "justice_and_care",
            "label": "Justice and care for the vulnerable"
        },
        {
            "id": "love",
            "label": "Love"
        },
        {
            "id": "messiah",
            "label": "Messiah"
        },
        {
            "id": "patience",
            "label": "Steadfast patience"
        },
        {
            "id": "philosophical_eros",
            "label": "Philosophical eros"
        },
        {
            "id": "poverty_wealth",
            "label": "Poverty and wealth"
        },
        {
            "id": "reason",
            "label": "Reason"
        },
        {
            "id": "service",
            "label": "Service"
        },
        {
            "id": "sin",
            "label": "Sin"
        },
        {
            "id": "suffering",
            "label": "Suffering"
        },
        {
            "id": "time",
            "label": "Time"
        },
        {
            "id": "virtue",
            "label": "Virtue"
        }
    ],
    "source_work_ids": [
        "socrates.plato_apology"
    ],
    "passages": 26,
    "word_count": 11771,
    "word_counts_by_language": {
        "en": 11771,
        "fr": 13046,
        "grc": 8750
    },
    "editorial_status": "gpt_5_6_semantic_draft_v1",
    "structure": {
        "citation_scheme": "carrier-explicit-ancient-reference-v1",
        "kind": "native",
        "levels": [
            {
                "key": "reference",
                "label_fr": "Référence",
                "label_en": "Reference"
            }
        ],
        "leaf_fr": "Passage",
        "leaf_en": "Passage"
    },
    "canonical_passage_id": "passage:socrates.plato_apology:30",
    "canonical_ref": "30",
    "canonical_parent_ref": null,
    "canonical_parent_id": null,
    "representations": [
        {
            "language": "grc",
            "text": "καὶ ἐάν τις ὑμῶν ἀμφισβητήσῃ καὶ φῇ ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, οὐκ εὐθὺς ἀφήσω αὐτὸν οὐδʼ ἄπειμι, ἀλλʼ ἐρήσομαι αὐτὸν καὶ ἐξετάσω καὶ ἐλέγξω, καὶ ἐάν μοι μὴ δοκῇ κεκτῆσθαι ἀρετήν, φάναι δέ, ὀνειδιῶ ὅτι τὰ πλείστου ἄξια περὶ ἐλαχίστου ποιεῖται, τὰ δὲ φαυλότερα περὶ πλείονος. ταῦτα καὶ νεωτέρῳ καὶ πρεσβυτέρῳ ὅτῳ ἂν ἐντυγχάνω ποιήσω, καὶ ξένῳ καὶ ἀστῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῖς ἀστοῖς, ὅσῳ μου ἐγγυτέρω ἐστὲ γένει. ταῦτα γὰρ κελεύει ὁ θεός, εὖ ἴστε, καὶ ἐγὼ οἴομαι οὐδέν πω ὑμῖν μεῖζον ἀγαθὸν γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ πόλει ἢ τὴν ἐμὴν τῷ θεῷ ὑπηρεσίαν. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄλλο πράττων ἐγὼ περιέρχομαι ἢ πείθων ὑμῶν καὶ νεωτέρους καὶ πρεσβυτέρους μήτε σωμάτων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι μήτε χρημάτων πρότερον μηδὲ οὕτω σφόδρα ὡς τῆς ψυχῆς ὅπως ὡς ἀρίστη ἔσται, λέγων ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ χρημάτων ἀρετὴ γίγνεται, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἀρετῆς χρήματα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἅπαντα καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ δημοσίᾳ. εἰ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα λέγων διαφθείρω τοὺς νέους, ταῦτʼ ἂν εἴη βλαβερά· εἰ δέ τίς μέ φησιν ἄλλα λέγειν ἢ ταῦτα, οὐδὲν λέγει. πρὸς ταῦτα, φαίην ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἢ πείθεσθε Ἀνύτῳ ἢ μή, καὶ ἢ ἀφίετέ με ἢ μή, ὡς ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἂν ποιήσαντος ἄλλα, οὐδʼ εἰ μέλλω πολλάκις τεθνάναι. μὴ θορυβεῖτε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀλλʼ ἐμμείνατέ μοι οἷς ἐδεήθην ὑμῶν, μὴ θορυβεῖν ἐφʼ οἷς ἂν λέγω ἀλλʼ ἀκούειν· καὶ γάρ, ὡς ἐγὼ οἶμαι, ὀνήσεσθε ἀκούοντες. μέλλω γὰρ οὖν ἄττα ὑμῖν ἐρεῖν καὶ ἄλλα ἐφʼ οἷς ἴσως βοήσεσθε· ἀλλὰ μηδαμῶς ποιεῖτε τοῦτο. εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, ἐάν με ἀποκτείνητε τοιοῦτον ὄντα οἷον ἐγὼ λέγω, οὐκ ἐμὲ μείζω βλάψετε ἢ ὑμᾶς αὐτούς· ἐμὲ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἂν βλάψειεν οὔτε Μέλητος οὔτε Ἄνυτος—οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν δύναιτο—οὐ γὰρ οἴομαι θεμιτὸν εἶναι ἀμείνονι ἀνδρὶ ὑπὸ χείρονος βλάπτεσθαι. ἀποκτείνειε μεντἂν ἴσως ἢ ἐξελάσειεν ἢ ἀτιμώσειεν· ἀλλὰ ταῦτα οὗτος μὲν ἴσως οἴεται καὶ ἄλλος τίς που μεγάλα κακά, ἐγὼ δʼ οὐκ οἴομαι, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον ποιεῖν ἃ οὑτοσὶ νῦν ποιεῖ, ἄνδρα ἀδίκως ἐπιχειρεῖν ἀποκτεινύναι. νῦν οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πολλοῦ δέω ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ ἀπολογεῖσθαι, ὥς τις ἂν οἴοιτο, ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, μή τι ἐξαμάρτητε περὶ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δόσιν ὑμῖν ἐμοῦ καταψηφισάμενοι. ἐὰν γάρ με ἀποκτείνητε, οὐ ῥᾳδίως ἄλλον τοιοῦτον εὑρήσετε, ἀτεχνῶς—εἰ καὶ γελοιότερον εἰπεῖν—προσκείμενον τῇ πόλει ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὥσπερ ἵππῳ μεγάλῳ μὲν καὶ γενναίῳ, ὑπὸ μεγέθους δὲ νωθεστέρῳ καὶ δεομένῳ ἐγείρεσθαι ὑπὸ μύωπός τινος, οἷον δή μοι δοκεῖ ὁ θεὸς ἐμὲ τῇ πόλει προστεθηκέναι τοιοῦτόν τινα, ὃς ὑμᾶς ἐγείρων καὶ πείθων καὶ ὀνειδίζων ἕνα ἕκαστον οὐδὲν παύομαι τὴν ἡμέραν ὅλην πανταχοῦ προσκαθίζων.",
            "edition": "perseus-plato-apology-grc",
            "source_id": "perseus-plato-apology-grc",
            "translation_type": "original"
        },
        {
            "language": "en",
            "text": "And if any of you argues the point, and says he does care, I shall not let him go at once, nor shall I go away, but I shall question and examine and cross-examine him, and if I find that he does not possess virtue, but says he does, I shall rebuke him for scorning the things that are of most importance and caring more for what is of less worth. This I shall do to whomever I meet, young and old, foreigner and citizen, but most to the citizens, inasmuch as you are more nearly related to me. For know that the god commands me to do this, and I believe that no greater good ever came to pass in the city than my service to the god. For I go about doing nothing else than urging you, young and old, not to care for your persons or your property more than for the perfection of your souls, or even so much; and I tell you that virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and all other good things to man, both to the individual and to the state. If by saying these things I corrupt the youth, these things must be injurious; but if anyone asserts that I say other things than these, he says what is untrue. Therefore I say to you, men of Athens , either do as Anytus tells you, or not, and either acquit me, or not, knowing that I shall not change my conduct even if I am to die many times over. Do not make a disturbance, men of Athens ; continue to do what I asked of you, not to interrupt my speech by disturbances, but to hear me; and I believe you will profit by hearing. Now I am going to say some things to you at which you will perhaps cry out; but do not do so by any means. For know that if you kill me, I being such a man as I say I am, you will not injure me so much as yourselves; for neither Meletus nor Anytus could injure me; that would be impossible, for I believe it is not God’s will that a better man be injured by a worse. He might, however, perhaps kill me or banish me or disfranchise me; and perhaps he thinks he would thus inflict great injuries upon me, and others may think so, but I do not; I think he does himself a much greater injury by doing what he is doing now—killing a man unjustly. And so, men of Athens , I am now making my defence not for my own sake, as one might imagine, but far more for yours, that you may not by condemning me err in your treatment of the gift the God gave you. For if you put me to death, you will not easily find another, who, to use a rather absurd figure, attaches himself to the city as a gadfly to a horse, which, though large and well bred, is sluggish on account of his size and needs to be aroused by stinging. I think the god fastened me upon the city in some such capacity, and I go about arousing, and urging and reproaching each one of you, constantly alighting upon you everywhere the whole day long.",
            "translator": "Benjamin Jowett",
            "edition": "perseus-plato-apology-en",
            "source_id": "perseus-plato-apology-en",
            "translation_type": "historical_human_translation"
        },
        {
            "language": "fr",
            "text": "[30a] mais qu’il fasse semblant de l’être, je lui ferai honte de mettre si peu de prix aux choses les plus précieuses, et d’en mettre tant à celles qui n’en ont aucun. Voilà de quelle manière je parlerai à tous ceux que je rencontrerai, jeunes et vieux, concitoyens et étrangers, mais plutôt à vous, Athéniens, parce que vous me touchez de plus près, et sachez que c’est là ce que le dieu m’ordonne, et je suis persuadé qu’il ne peut y avoir rien de plus avantageux à la république que mon zèle à remplir l’ordre du dieu : car toute mon occupation est de vous persuader, [30b] jeunes et vieux, qu’avant le soin du corps et des richesses, avant tout autre soin, est celui de l’âme et de son perfectionnement. Je ne cesse de vous dire que ce n’est pas la richesse qui fait la vertu ; mais, au contraire, que c’est la vertu qui fait la richesse, et que c’est de là que naissent tous les autres biens publics et particuliers. Si, en parlant ainsi, je corromps la jeunesse, il faut que ces maximes soient un poison, car si on prétend que je dis autre chose, on se trompe, ou l’on vous en impose. Ainsi donc, je n’ai qu’à vous dire : Faites ce que demande Anytus, ou ne le faites pas ; renvoyez-moi, ou ne me renvoyez pas ; je ne ferai jamais autre chose, quand je devrais [30c] mourir mille fois… Ne murmurez pas, Athéniens, et accordez-moi la grâce que je vous ai demandée, de m’écouter patiemment : cette patience, à mon avis, ne vous sera pas infructueuse. J’ai à vous dire beaucoup d’autres choses qui, peut-être, exciteront vos clameurs ; mais ne vous livrez pas à ces mouvements de colère. Soyez persuadés que, si vous me faites mourir, étant tel que je viens de le déclarer, vous vous ferez plus de mal qu’à moi. En effet, ni Anytus ni Mélitus ne me feront aucun mal ; [30d] ils ne le peuvent, car je ne crois pas qu’il soit au pouvoir du méchant de nuire à l’homme de bien. Peut-être me feront-ils condamner à la mort ou à l’exil ou à la perte de mes droits de citoyen, et Anytus et les autres prennent sans doute cela pour de très grands maux ; mais moi je ne suis pas de leur avis ; à mon sens, le plus grand de tous les maux, c’est ce qu’Anytus fait aujourd’hui, d’entreprendre de faire périr un innocent. Maintenant, Athéniens, ne croyez pas que ce soit pour l’amour de moi que je me défends, comme on pourrait le croire ; c’est pour l’amour de vous, de peur qu’en me condamnant, [30e] vous n’offensiez le dieu dans le présent qu’il vous a fait ; car si vous me faites mourir, vous ne trouverez pas facilement un autre citoyen comme moi, qui semble avoir été attaché à cette ville, la comparaison vous paraîtra peut-être un peu ridicule, comme à un coursier puissant et généreux, mais que sa grandeur même appesantit, et qui a besoin d’un éperon qui l’excite et l’aiguillonne. C’est ainsi que le dieu semble m’avoir choisi pour vous exciter et vous aiguillonner, pour gourmander chacun de",
            "translator": "Victor Cousin",
            "edition": "wikisource-cousin-apology-fr-01",
            "source_id": "wikisource-cousin-apology-fr-01",
            "translation_type": "historical_human_translation"
        }
    ],
    "content_checksum": "021bb80f8a7b3088f8850d128a1dfda347ededd32b26a5784658aebe4b716b7c"
}