795
11/66 against the many, he would not have lived, and could therefore have done no good. Twice in public matters he has risked his life for the sake of justice— once at the trial of the generals; and again in resistance to the tyrannical commands of the Thirty. But, though not a public man, he has passed his days in instruct- ing the citizens without fee or reward— this was his mission. Whether his disciples have turned out well or ill, he cannot justly be charged with the result, for he never promised to teach them anything. They might come if they liked, and they might stay away if they liked: and they did come, because they found an amusement in hearing the pretenders to wisdom detected. If they have been corrupted, their elder relatives (if not themselves) might surely come into court and witness against him, and there is an opportun- ity still for them to appear. But their fathers and brothers all ap- pear in court (including 'this' Plato), to witness on his behalf; and if their relatives are corrupted, at least they are uncorrupted; 'and they are my witnesses. For they know that I am speaking the truth, and that Meletus is lying.' This is about all that he has to say. He will not entreat the judges to spare his life; neither will he present a spectacle of weeping chil- dren, although he, too, is not made of 'rock or oak.' Some of the judges themselves may have complied with this practice on similar occasions, and he trusts that they will not be angry with him for not following their example. But he feels that such conduct brings discredit on the name of Athens: he feels too, that the judge has sworn not to give away justice; and he cannot be guilty of the impi- ety of asking the judge to break his oath, when he is himself being tried for impiety. As he expected, and probably intended, he is convicted. And now the tone of the speech, instead of being more conciliatory, becomes more lofty and commanding. Anytus proposes death as the