-^-for posterity-^-

the apology of socrates.

he was on trial for impiety and corrupting the youth. he stood and gave his own defense. he talked about wisdom. he talked about knowledge. he was told that there was no one wiser than him. he went to all the wise men across the land to find out if this was true. he followed these wise men around and said, ‘i am better off than he is because he knows nothing, and thinks he knows; i neither know or think that i know.’

he talked about god and believing in the human soul. he said that the development of the human soul was his paramount ambition. they accused him of being an atheist and he responded, ‘who believes in horsemanship and not horses?’

he said he sensed a higher god than any of those who accused him.

he knows that they will kill him. he does not fear death. he says that two things can happen when you die: you can go off into another world where the rest of the dead reside or, you can pass off into a deep slumber where, ‘eternity is then only a single night.’

he asks the court to punish his children and teach them that they are really nothing when they think they are something. he asks the court to reprove his children when they do not care.

the hour of his departure arrived and, ‘we go our ways—i to die and you to live. which is better god only knows.’

is this attainable? do we live up to this high standard? would we rather die than be unrighteous? do we think we are something when we are really nothing?