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Chapter 5. SOCRATES (469-399 B.C.)

[18] Socrates was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and of Phaenarete, a midwife, as we read in the Theaetetus of Plato; he was a citizen of Athens and belonged to the deme Alopece. It was thought that he helped Euripides to make his plays; hence Mnesimachus¹ writes:

This new play of Euripides is The Phrygians; and Socrates provides the wood for frying.²

And again he calls Euripides an engine riveted by Socrates. And Callias in The Captives³:

A.

Pray why so solemn, why this lofty air?

B.

I’ve every right; I’m helped by Socrates.

Aristophanes⁴ in The Clouds:

’Tis he composes for Euripides

Those clever plays, much sound and little sense.

[19] According to some authors he was a pupil of Anaxagoras, and also of Damon, as Alexander states in his Successions of Philosophers. When Anaxagoras was condemned, he became a pupil of Archelaus the physicist; Aristoxenus asserts that Archelaus was very fond of him. Duris makes him out to have been a slave and to have been employed on stonework, and the draped figures of the Graces on the Acropolis have by some been attributed to him. Hence the passage in Timon’s Silli⁵:

From these diverged the sculptor, a prater about laws, the enchanter of Greece, inventor of subtle arguments, the sneerer who mocked at fine speeches, half-Attic in his mock humility.

He was formidable in public speaking, according to Idomeneus; moreover, as Xenophon tells us, the Thirty forbade him to teach the art of words.

[20] And Aristophanes attacks him in his plays for making the worse appear the better reason. For Favorinus in his Miscellaneous History says Socrates and his pupil Aeschines were the first to teach rhetoric; and this is confirmed by Idomeneus in his work on the Socratic circle.⁶ Again, he was the first who discoursed on the conduct of life, and the first philosopher who was tried and put to death. Aristoxenus, the son of Spintharus, says of him that he made money; he would at all events invest sums, collect the interest accruing, and then, when this was expended, put out the principal again.

Demetrius of Byzantium relates that Crito removed him from his workshop and educated him, being struck by his beauty of soul;

[21] that he discussed moral questions in the workshops and the market-place, being convinced that the study of nature is no concern of ours; and that he claimed that his inquiries embraced

Whatso’er is good or evil in an house⁷;

that frequently, owing to his vehemence in argument, men set upon him with their fists or tore his hair out; and that for the most part he was despised and laughed at, yet bore all this ill-usage patiently. So much so that, when he had been kicked, and some one expressed surprise at his taking it so quietly, Socrates rejoined, Should I have taken the law of a donkey, supposing that he had kicked me? Thus far Demetrius.

[22] Unlike most philosophers, he had no need to travel, except when required to go on an expedition. The rest of his life he stayed at home and engaged all the more keenly in argument with anyone who would converse with him, his aim being not to alter his opinion but to get at the truth. They relate that Euripides gave him the treatise of Heraclitus and asked his opinion upon it, and that his reply was, The part I understand is excellent, and so too is, I dare say, the part I do not understand; but it needs a Delian diver to get to the bottom of it.

He took care to exercise his body and kept in good condition. At all events he served on the expedition to Amphipolis; and when in the battle of Delium Xenophon had fallen from his horse, he stepped in and saved his life.

[23] For in the general flight of the Athenians he personally retired at his ease, quietly turning round from time to time and ready to defend himself in case he were attacked. Again, he served at Potidaea, whither he had gone by sea, as land communications were interrupted by the war⁸; and while there he is said to have remained a whole night without changing his position, and to have won the prize of valour. But he resigned it to Alcibiades, for whom he cherished the tenderest affection, according to Aristippus in the fourth book of his treatise On the Luxury of the Ancients. Ion of Chios relates that in his youth he visited Samos in the company of Archelaus; and Aristotle that he went to Delphi; he went also to the Isthmus, according to Favorinus in the first book of his Memorabilia.

[24] His strength of will and attachment to the democracy are evident from his refusal to yield to Critias and his colleagues when they ordered him to bring the wealthy Leon of Salamis before them for execution, and further from the fact that he alone voted for the acquittal of the ten generals; and again from the facts that when he had the opportunity to escape from the prison he declined to do so, and that he rebuked his friends for weeping over his fate, and addressed to them his most memorable discourses in the prison.

He was a man of great independence and dignity of character. Pamphila in the seventh book of her Commentaries tells how Alcibiades once offered him a large site on which to build a house; but he replied, Suppose, then, I wanted shoes and you offered me a whole hide to make a pair with, would it not be ridiculous in me to take it?

[25] Often when he looked at the multitude of wares exposed for sale, he would say to himself, How many things I can do without! And he would continually recite the lines:

The purple robe and silver’s shine

More fits an actor’s need than mine.⁹

He showed his contempt for Archelaus of Macedon and Scopas of Cranon and Eurylochus of Larissa by refusing to accept their presents or to go to their court. He was so orderly in his way of life that on several occasions when pestilence broke out in Athens he was the only man who escaped infection.

[26] Aristotle says that he married two wives: his first wife was Xanthippe, by whom he had a son, Lamprocles; his second wife was Myrto, the daughter of Aristides the Just, whom he took without a dowry. By her he had Sophroniscus and Menexenus. Others make Myrto his first wife; while some writers, including Satyrus and Hieronymus of Rhodes, affirm that they were both his wives at the same time. For they say that the Athenians were short of men and, wishing to increase the population, passed a decree permitting a citizen to marry one Athenian woman and have children by another; and that Socrates accordingly did so.

[27] He could afford to despise those who scoffed at him. He prided himself on his plain living, and never asked a fee from anyone. He used to say that he most enjoyed the food which was least in need of condiment, and the drink which made him feel the least hankering for some other drink; and that he was nearest to the gods in that he had the fewest wants. This may be seen from the Comic poets, who in the act of ridiculing him give him high praise. Thus Aristophanes¹⁰:

O man that justly desirest great wisdom, how blessed will be thy life amongst Athenians and Greeks, retentive of memory and thinker that thou art, with endurance of toil for thy character; never art thou weary whether standing or walking, never numb with cold, never hungry for breakfast; from wine and from gross feeding and all other frivolities thou dost turn away.

[28] Ameipsias too, when he puts him on the stage wearing a cloak, says¹¹:

A.

You come to join us, Socrates, worthiest of a small band and emptiest by far! You are a robust fellow. Where can we get you a proper coat?

B.

Your sorry plight is an insult to the cobblers.

A.

And yet, hungry as he is, this man has never stooped to flatter.

This disdainful, lofty spirit of his is also noticed by Aristophanes when he says¹²:

Because you stalk along the streets, rolling your eyes, and endure, barefoot, many a hardship, and gaze up at us [the clouds].

And yet at times he would even put on fine clothes to suit the occasion, as in Plato’s Symposium,¹³ where he is on his way to Agathon’s house.

[29] He showed equal ability in both directions, in persuading and dissuading men; thus, after conversing with Theaetetus about knowledge, he sent him away, as Plato says, fired with a divine impulse; but when Euthyphro had indicted his father for manslaughter, Socrates, after some conversation with him upon piety, diverted him from his purpose. Lysis, again, he turned, by exhortation, into a most virtuous character. For he had the skill to draw his arguments from facts. And when his son Lamprocles was violently angry with his mother, Socrates made him feel ashamed of himself, as I believe Xenophon has told us. When Plato’s brother Glaucon was desirous of entering upon politics, Socrates dissuaded him, as Xenophon relates, because of his want of experience; but on the contrary he encouraged Charmides to take up politics because he had a gift that way.¹⁴

[30] He roused Iphicrates the general to a martial spirit by showing him how the fighting cocks of Midias the barber flapped their wings in defiance of those of Callias. Glauconides demanded that he should be acquired for the state as if he were some pheasant or peacock.

He used to say it was strange that, if you asked a man how many sheep he had, he could easily tell you the precise number; whereas he could not name his friends or say how many he had, so slight was the value he set upon them. Seeing Euclides keenly interested in eristic arguments, he said to him: You will be able to get on with sophists, Euclides, but with men not at all. For he thought there was no use in this sort of hair-splitting, as Plato shows us in the Euthydemus.

[31] Again, when Charmides offered him some slaves in order that he might derive an income from them, he declined the offer; and according to some he scorned the beauty of Alcibiades. He would extol leisure as the best of possessions, according to Xenophon in the Symposium. There is, he said, only one good, that is, knowledge, and only one evil, that is, ignorance; wealth and good birth bring their possessor no dignity, but on the contrary evil. At all events, when some one told him that Antisthenes’ mother was a Thracian, he replied, Nay, did you expect a man so noble to have been born of two Athenian parents? He made Crito ransom Phaedo who, having been taken prisoner in the war, was kept in degrading slavery, and so won him for philosophy.

[32] Moreover, in his old age he learnt to play the lyre, declaring that he saw no absurdity in learning a new accomplishment. As Xenophon relates in the Symposium, it was his regular habit to dance, thinking that such exercise helped to keep the body in good condition. He used to say that his supernatural sign warned him beforehand of the future; that to make a good start was no trifling advantage, but a trifle turned the scale; and that he knew nothing except just the fact of his ignorance. He said that, when people paid a high price for fruit which had ripened early, they must despair of seeing the fruit ripen at the proper season. And, being once asked in what consisted the virtue of a young man, he said, In doing nothing to excess. He held that geometry should be studied to the point at which a man is able to measure the land which he acquires or parts with.

[33] On hearing the line of Euripides’ play Auge where the poet says of virtue:

’Tis best to let her roam at will,¹⁵

he got up and left the theatre. For he said it was absurd to make a hue and cry about a slave who could not be found, and to allow virtue to perish in this way. Some one asked him whether he should marry or not, and received the reply, Whichever you do you will repent it. He used to express his astonishment that the sculptors of marble statues should take pains to make the block of marble into a perfect likeness of a man, and should take no pains about themselves lest they should turn out mere blocks, not men. He recommended to the young the constant use of the mirror, to the end that handsome men might acquire a corresponding behaviour, and ugly men conceal their defects by education.

[34] He had invited some rich men and, when Xanthippe said she felt ashamed of the dinner, Never mind, said he, for if they are reasonable they will put up with it, and if they are good for nothing, we shall not trouble ourselves about them. He would say that the rest of the world lived to eat, while he himself ate to live. Of the mass of men who do not count he said it was as if some one should object to a single tetradrachm as counterfeit and at the same time let a whole heap made up of just such pieces pass as genuine. Aeschines said to him, I am a poor man and have nothing else to give, but I offer you myself, and Socrates answered, Nay, do you not see that you are offering me the greatest gift of all? To one who complained that he was overlooked when the Thirty rose to power, he said, You are not sorry for that, are you?

[35] To one who said, You are condemned by the Athenians to die, he made answer, So are they, by nature. But some ascribe this to Anaxagoras. When his wife said, You suffer unjustly, he retorted, Why, would you have me suffer justly? He had a dream that some one said to him¹⁶:

On the third day thou shalt come to the fertile fields of Phthia;

and he told Aeschines, On the third day I shall die.¹⁷ When he was about to drink the hemlock, Apollodorus offered him a beautiful garment to die in: What, said he, is my own good enough to live in but not to die in? When he was told that So-and-so spoke ill of him, he replied, True, for he has never learnt to speak well.

[36] When Antisthenes turned his cloak so that the tear in it came into view, I see, said he, your vanity through your cloak. To one who said, Don’t you find so-and-so very offensive? his reply was, No, for it takes two to make a quarrel. We ought not to object, he used to say, to be subjects for the Comic poets, for if they satirize our faults they will do us good, and if not they do not touch us. When Xanthippe first scolded him and then drenched him with water, his rejoinder was, Did I not say that Xanthippe’s thunder would end in rain? When Alcibiades declared that the scolding of Xanthippe was intolerable, Nay, I have got used to it, said he, as to the continued rattle of a windlass. And you do not mind the cackle of geese.

[37] No, replied Alcibiades, but they furnish me with eggs and goslings. And Xanthippe, said Socrates, is the mother of my children. When she tore his coat off his back in the market-place and his acquaintances advised him to hit back, Yes, by Zeus, said he, in order that while we are sparring each of you may join in with Go it, Socrates! Well done, Xanthippe! He said he lived with a shrew, as horsemen are fond of spirited horses, but just as, when they have mastered these, they can easily cope with the rest, so I in the society of Xanthippe shall learn to adapt myself to the rest of the world.

These and the like were his words and deeds, to which the Pythian priestess bore testimony when she gave Chaerephon the famous response:

Of all men living Socrates most wise.

[38] For this he was most envied; and especially because he would take to task those who thought highly of themselves, proving them to be fools, as to be sure he treated Anytus, according to Plato’s Meno.¹⁸ For Anytus could not endure to be ridiculed by Socrates, and so in the first place stirred up against him Aristophanes and his friends; then afterwards he helped to persuade Meletus to indict him on a charge of impiety and corrupting the youth.

The indictment was brought by Meletus, and the speech was delivered by Polyeuctus, according to Favorinus in his Miscellaneous History. The speech was written by Polycrates the sophist, according to Hermippus; but some say that it was by Anytus. Lycon the demagogue had made all the needful preparations.¹⁹

[39] Antisthenes in his Successions of Philosophers, and Plato in his Apology, say that there were three accusers, Anytus, Lycon and Meletus; that Anytus was roused to anger on behalf of the craftsmen and politicians, Lycon on behalf of the rhetoricians, Meletus of the poets, all three of which classes had felt the lash of Socrates. Favorinus in the first book of his Memorabilia declares that the speech of Polycrates against Socrates is not authentic; for he mentions the rebuilding of the walls by Conon, which did not take place till six years after the death of Socrates. And this is the case.

[40] The affidavit in the case, which is still preserved, says Favorinus, in the Metron, ran as follows: This indictment and affidavit is sworn by Meletus, the son of Meletus of Pitthos, against Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus of Alopece: Socrates is guilty of refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state, and of introducing other new divinities. He is also guilty of corrupting the youth. The penalty demanded is death. The philosopher then, after Lysias had written a defence for him, read it through and said: A fine speech, Lysias; it is not, however, suitable to me. For it was plainly more forensic than philosophical.

[41] Lysias said, If it is a fine speech, how can it fail to suit you? Well, he replied, would not fine raiment and fine shoes be just as unsuitable to me?

Justus of Tiberias in his book entitled The Wreath says that in the course of the trial Plato mounted the platform and began: Though I am the youngest, men of Athens, of all who ever rose to address you—whereupon the judges shouted out, Get down! Get down! When therefore he was condemned by 281 votes more than those given for acquittal, and when the judges were assessing what he should suffer or what fine he should pay, he proposed to pay 25 drachmae. Eubulides indeed says he offered 100.

[42] When this caused an uproar among the judges, he said, Considering my services, I assess the penalty at maintenance in the Prytaneum at the public expense.

Sentence of death was passed, with an accession of eighty fresh votes. He was put in prison, and a few days afterwards drank the hemlock, after much noble discourse which Plato records in the Phaedo. Further, according to some, he composed a paean beginning:

All hail, Apollo, Delos’ lord!

Hail Artemis, ye noble pair!

Dionysodorus denies that he wrote the paean. He also composed a fable of Aesop, not very skilfully, beginning²⁰:

Judge not, ye men of Corinth, Aesop cried,

Of virtue as the jury-courts decide.

[43] So he was taken from among men; and not long afterwards the Athenians felt such remorse that they shut up the training grounds and gymnasia. They banished the other accusers but put Meletus to death; they honoured Socrates with a bronze statue, the work of Lysippus, which they placed in the hall of processions. And no sooner did Anytus visit Heraclea than the people of that town expelled him on that very day. Not only in the case of Socrates but in very many others the Athenians repented in this way. For they fined Homer (so says Heraclides²¹) 50 drachmae for a madman, and said Tyrtaeus was beside himself, and they honoured Astydamas before Aeschylus and his brother poets with a bronze statue.

[44] Euripides upbraids them thus in his Palamedes: Ye have slain, have slain, the all-wise, the innocent, the Muses’ nightingale.²² This is one account; but Philochorus asserts that Euripides died before Socrates.

He was born, according to Apollodorus in his Chronology, in the archonship of Apsephion, in the fourth year of the 77th Olympiad,²³ on the 6th day of the month of Thargelion, when the Athenians purify their city, which according to the Delians is the birthday of Artemis. He died in the first year of the 95th Olympiad²⁴ at the age of seventy. With this Demetrius of Phalerum agrees; but some say he was sixty when he died.

[45] Both were pupils of Anaxagoras, I mean Socrates and Euripides, who was born in the first year of the 75th Olympiad in the archonship of Calliades.²⁵

In my opinion Socrates discoursed on physics as well as on ethics, since he holds some conversations about providence, even according to Xenophon, who, however, declares that he only discussed ethics. But Plato, after mentioning Anaxagoras and certain other physicists in the Apology,²⁶ treats for his own part themes which Socrates disowned, although he puts everything into the mouth of Socrates.

Aristotle relates that a magician came from Syria to Athens and, among other evils with which he threatened Socrates, predicted that he would come to a violent end.

[46] I have written verses about him too, as follows²⁷:

Drink then, being in Zeus’s palace, O Socrates; for truly did the god pronounce thee wise, being wisdom himself; for when thou didst frankly take the hemlock at the hands of the Athenians, they themselves drained it as it passed thy lips.

He was sharply criticized, according to Aristotle in his third book On Poetry, by a certain Antilochus of Lemnos, and by Antiphon the soothsayer, just as Pythagoras was by Cylon of Croton, or as Homer was assailed in his lifetime by Syagrus, and after his death by Xenophanes of Colophon. So too Hesiod was criticized in his lifetime by Cercops, and after his death by the aforesaid Xenophanes; Pindar by Amphimenes of Cos; thales by Pherecydes; Bias by Salarus of Priene; Pittacus by Antimenidas and Alcaeus; Anaxagoras by Sosibius; and Simonides by Timocreon.

[47] Of those who succeeded him and were called Socratics²⁸ the chief were Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, and of ten names on the traditional list the most distinguished are Aeschines, Phaedo, Euclides, Aristippus. I must first speak of Xenophon; Antisthenes will come afterwards among the Cynics; after Xenophon I shall take the Socratics proper, and so pass on to Plato. With Plato the ten schools begin: he was himself the founder of the First Academy. This then is the order which I shall follow.

Of those who bear the name of Socrates there is one, a historian, who wrote a geographical work upon Argos; another, a Peripatetic philosopher of Bithynia; a third, a poet who wrote epigrams; lastly, Socrates of Cos, who wrote on the names of the gods.

Vitae philosophorum. Diogenes Laertius. R. D. Hicks (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1925.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access.

Current edition Perseus

Lives of Eminent Philosophers (English) (Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.)

Editions (1)

Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων Perseus (Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.) — 2.5 focus

Κεφ. ε′. ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ

[18] Σωκράτης Σωφρονίσκου μὲν ἦν υἱὸς λιθουργοῦ καὶ Φαιναρέτης μαίας, ὡς καὶ Πλάτων ἐν Θεαιτήτῳ φησίν, Ἀθηναῖος, τῶν δήμων Ἀλωπεκῆθεν. ἐδόκει δὲ συμποιεῖν Εὐριπίδῃ· ὅθεν Μνησίμαχος οὕτω φησί,

Φρύγες ἐστὶ καινὸν δρᾶμα τοῦτʼ Εὐριπίδου,

...ᾧ καὶ Σωκράτης

τὰ φρύγανʼ ὑποτίθησι.

καὶ πάλιν, Εὐριπίδας σωκρατογόμφους. καὶ Καλλίας Πεδήταις·

Α.

Τί δὴ σὺ σεμνὴ καὶ φρονεῖς οὕτω μέγα;

Β.

Ἔξεστι γάρ μοι· Σωκράτης γὰρ αἴτιος.

Ἀριστοφάνης Νεφέλαις·

Εὐριπίδῃ δʼ ὁ τὰς τραγῳδίας ποιῶν

τὰς περιλαλούσας οὗτός ἐστι, τὰς σοφάς.

[19] Ἀκούσας δὲ Ἀναξαγόρου κατά τινας, ἀλλὰ καὶ Δάμωνος, ὡς Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν Διαδοχαῖς, μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου καταδίκην διήκουσεν Ἀρχελάου τοῦ φυσικοῦ· οὗ καὶ παιδικὰ γενέσθαι φησὶν Ἀριστόξενος. Δοῦρις δὲ καὶ δουλεῦσαι αὐτὸν καὶ ἐργάσασθαι λίθους· εἶναί τε αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς ἐν ἀκροπόλει Χάριτας ἔνιοί φασιν, ἐνδεδυμένας οὔσας. ὅθεν καὶ Τίμωνα ἐν τοῖς Σίλλοις εἰπεῖν·

ἐκ δʼ ἄρα τῶν ἀπέκλινεν ὁ λαξόος, ἐννομολέσχης,

Ἑλλήνων ἐπαοιδός, ἀκριβολόγους ἀποφήνας,

μυκτὴρ ῥητορόμυκτος, ὑπαττικὸς εἰρωνευτής.

ἦν γὰρ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ῥητορικοῖς δεινός, ὥς φησι καὶ Ἰδομενεύς· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τριάκοντα αὐτὸν ἐκώλυσαν τέχνας διδάσκειν λόγων, ὥς φησι Ξενοφῶν.

[20] καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης αὐτὸν κωμῳδεῖ ὡς τὸν ἥττω λόγον κρείττω ποιοῦντα. καὶ γὰρ πρῶτος, ὥς φησι Φαβωρῖνος ἐν Παντοδαπῇ ἱστορίᾳ, μετὰ τοῦ μαθητοῦ Αἰσχίνου ῥητορεύειν ἐδίδαξε· λέγει δὲ τοῦτο καὶ Ἰδομενεὺς ἐν τῷ περὶ τῶν Σωκρατικῶν. καὶ πρῶτος περὶ βίου διελέχθη καὶ πρῶτος φιλοσόφων καταδικασθεὶς ἐτελεύτα. φησὶ δʼ αὐτὸν Ἀριστόξενος ὁ Σπινθάρου καὶ χρηματίσασθαι· τιθέντα γοῦν τὸ βαλλόμενον κέρμα ἀθροίζειν· εἶτʼ ἀναλώσαντα πάλιν τιθέναι.

Κρίτωνα δʼ ἀναστῆσαι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐργαστηρίου καὶ παιδεῦσαι τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν χάριτος ἐρασθέντα Δημήτριός φησιν ὁ Βυζάντιος.

[21] γνόντα δὲ τὴν φυσικὴν θεωρίαν μηδὲν εἶναι πρὸς ἡμᾶς, τὰ ἠθικὰ φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπί τε τῶν ἐργαστηρίων καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ· κἀκεῖνα δὲ φάσκειν ζητεῖν,

ὅττι τοι ἐν μεγάροισι κακόν τʼ ἀγαθόν τε τέτυκται.

πολλάκις δὲ βιαιότερον ἐν ταῖς ζητήσεσι διαλεγόμενον κονδυλίζεσθαι καὶ παρατίλλεσθαι, τὸ πλέον τε γελᾶσθαι καταφρονούμενον· καὶ πάντα ταῦτα φέρειν ἀνεξικάκως. ὅθεν καὶ λακτισθέντα, ἐπειδὴ ἠνέσχετο, τινὸς θαυμάσαντος, εἰπεῖν, εἰ δέ με ὄνος ἐλάκτισε, δίκην ἂν αὐτῷ ἐλάγχανον; καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Δημήτριος.

[22] Ἀποδημίας δὲ οὐκ ἐδεήθη, καθάπερ οἱ πλείους, πλὴν εἰ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι ἔδει. τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν αὐτόθι μένων φιλονεικότερον συνεζήτει τοῖς προσδιαλεγομένοις, οὐχ ὥστε ἀφελέσθαι τὴν δόξαν αὐτούς, ἀλλʼ ὥστε τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐκμαθεῖν πειρᾶσθαι. φασὶ δʼ Εὐριπίδην αὐτῷ δόντα τὸ Ἡρακλείτου σύγγραμμα ἐρέσθαι, τί δοκεῖ; τὸν δὲ φάναι, ἃ μὲν συνῆκα, γενναῖα· οἶμαι δὲ καὶ ἃ μὴ συνῆκα· πλὴν Δηλίου γέ τινος δεῖται κολυμβητοῦ.

Ἐπεμελεῖτο δὲ καὶ σωμασκίας, καὶ ἦν εὐέκτης. ἐστρατεύσατο γοῦν εἰς Ἀμφίπολιν καὶ Ξενοφῶντα ἀφʼ ἵππου πεσόντα ἐν τῇ κατὰ Δήλιον μάχῃ διέσωσεν ὑπολαβών·

[23] ὅτε καὶ πάντων φευγόντων Ἀθηναίων αὐτὸς ἠρέμα ἀνεχώρει, παρεπιστρεφόμενος ἡσυχῆ καὶ τηρῶν ἀμύνασθαι εἴ τίς οἱ ἐπέλθοι. ἐστρατεύσατο δὲ καὶ εἰς Ποτίδαιαν διὰ θαλάττης· πεζῇ γὰρ οὐκ ἐνῆν τοῦ πολέμου κωλύοντος. ὅτε καὶ μεῖναι διὰ νυκτὸς ὅλης ἐφʼ ἑνὸς σχήματος αὐτόν φασι, καὶ ἀριστεύσαντα αὐτόθι παραχωρῆσαι Ἀλκιβιάδῃ τοῦ ἀριστείου· οὗ καὶ ἐρασθῆναί φησιν αὐτὸν Ἀρίστιππος ἐν τετάρτῳ Περὶ παλαιᾶς τρυφῆς. Ἴων δὲ ὁ Χῖος καὶ νέον ὄντα εἰς Σάμον σὺν Ἀρχελάῳ ἀποδημῆσαι· καὶ Πυθώδε ἐλθεῖν Ἀριστοτέλης φησίν· ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Ἰσθμόν, ὡς Φαβωρῖνος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν Ἀπομνημονευμάτων.

[24] Ἦν δὲ καὶ ἰσχυρογνώμων καὶ δημοκρατικός, ὡς δῆλον ἔκ τε τοῦ μὴ εἶξαι τοῖς περὶ Κριτίαν, κελεύουσι Λέοντα τὸν Σαλαμίνιον, ἄνδρα πλούσιον, ἀγαγεῖν πρὸς αὐτούς, ὥστε ἀπολέσθαι· ἀλλὰ καὶ μόνος ἀποψηφίσασθαι τῶν δέκα στρατηγῶν. καὶ ἐνὸν αὐτῷ ἀποδρᾶναι τῆς εἱρκτῆς μὴ ἐθελῆσαι· τοῖς τε κλαίουσιν αὐτὸν ἐπιπλῆξαι καὶ τοὺς καλλίστους λόγους ἐκείνους δεδεμένον διαθέσθαι.

Αὐτάρκης τε ἦν καὶ σεμνός. καί ποτε Ἀλκιβιάδου, καθά φησι Παμφίλη ἐν τῷ ἑβδόμῳ τῶν Ὑπομνημάτων, διδόντος αὐτῷ χώραν μεγάλην, ἵνα ἐνοικοδομήσηται οἰκίαν, φάναι, καὶ εἰ ὑποδημάτων ἔδει, καὶ βύρσαν μοι ἐδίδους, ἵνʼ ἐμαυτῷ ὑποδήματα ποιησαίμην, καταγέλαστος ἂν ἦν λαβών.

[25] πολλάκις δʼ ἀφορῶν εἰς τὰ πλήθη τῶν πιπρασκομένων ἔλεγε πρὸς αὑτόν, πόσων ἐγὼ χρείαν οὐκ ἔχω. καὶ συνεχὲς ἐκεῖνα ἀνεφθέγγετο τὰ ἰαμβεῖα·

τὰ δʼ ἀργυρώματʼ ἐστὶν ἥ τε πορφύρα

εἰς τοὺς τραγῳδοὺς χρήσιμʼ, οὐκ εἰς τὸν βίον.

ὑπερεφρόνησε δὲ καὶ Ἀρχελάου τοῦ Μακεδόνος καὶ Σκόπα τοῦ Κρανωνίου καὶ Εὐρυλόχου τοῦ Λαρισσαίου, μήτε χρήματα προσέμενος παρʼ αὐτῶν, μήτε παρʼ αὐτοὺς ἀπελθών. εὔτακτός τε ἦν τὴν δίαιταν οὕτως, ὥστε πολλάκις Ἀθήνησι λοιμῶν γενομένων μόνος οὐκ ἐνόσησε.

[26] Φησὶ δʼ Ἀριστοτέλης δύο γυναῖκας αὐτὸν ἀγαγέσθαι· προτέραν μὲν Ξανθίππην, ἐξ ἧς αὐτῷ γενέσθαι Λαμπροκλέα· δευτέραν δὲ Μυρτώ, τὴν Ἀριστείδου τοῦ δικαίου θυγατέρα, ἣν καὶ ἄπροικον λαβεῖν, ἐξ ἧς γενέσθαι Σωφρονίσκον καὶ Μενέξενον. οἱ δὲ προτέραν γῆμαι τὴν Μυρτώ φασιν· ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ ἀμφοτέρας σχεῖν ὁμοῦ, ὧν ἐστι Σάτυρός τε καὶ Ἱερώνυμος ὁ Ῥόδιος. φασὶ γὰρ βουληθέντας Ἀθηναίους διὰ τὸ λειπανδρεῖν συναυξῆσαι τὸ πλῆθος, ψηφίσασθαι γαμεῖν μὲν ἀστὴν μίαν, παιδοποιεῖσθαι δὲ καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρας· ὅθεν τοῦτο ποιῆσαι καὶ Σωκράτην.

[27] Ἦν δʼ ἱκανὸς καὶ τῶν σκωπτόντων [αὐτὸν] ὑπερορᾶν. καὶ ἐσεμνύνετο ἐπὶ τῇ εὐτελείᾳ, μισθόν τε οὐδένα εἰσεπράξατο. καὶ ἔλεγεν ἥδιστα ἐσθίων ἥκιστα ὄψου προσδεῖσθαι· καὶ ἥδιστα πίνων ἥκιστα τὸ μὴ παρὸν ποτὸν ἀναμένειν· καὶ ἐλαχίστων δεόμενος ἔγγιστα εἶναι θεῶν. τοῦτο δʼ ἐνέσται καὶ παρὰ τῶν κωμῳδοποιῶν λαβεῖν, οἳ λανθάνουσιν ἑαυτοὺς διʼ ὧν σκώπτουσιν ἐπαινοῦντες αὐτόν. Ἀριστοφάνης μὲν οὕτως·

ὦ τῆς μεγάλης ἐπιθυμήσας σοφίας ἄνθρωπε δικαίως,

ὡς εὐδαίμων παρʼ Ἀθηναίοις καὶ τοῖς Ἕλλησι διάξεις.

εἶ γὰρ μνήμων καὶ φροντιστής, καὶ τὸ ταλαίπωρον ἔνεστιν

ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ, κοὔτε τι κάμνεις οὔθʼ ἑστὼς οὔτε βαδίζων,

οὔτε ῥιγῶν ἄχθει λίαν, οὔτʼ ἀρίστων ἐπιθυμεῖς, οἴνου τʼ ἀπέχει κἀδηφαγίας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνοήτων.

[28] Ἀμειψίας δʼ ἐν τρίβωνι παράγων αὐτὸν φησὶν οὕτως·

Σώκρατες ἀνδρῶν βέλτιστʼ ὀλίγων, πολλῷ δὲ ματαιόταθʼ, ἥκεις

καὶ σὺ πρὸς ἡμᾶς. καρτερικός γʼ εἶ. πόθεν ἄν σοι χλαῖνα γένοιτο;

Β.

τουτὶ τὸ κακὸν κατʼ ἐπήρειαν τῶν σκυτοτόμων γεγένηται.

Α.

οὗτος μέντοι πεινῶν οὕτως οὐπώποτʼ ἔτλη κολακεῦσαι.

τοῦτο δʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ ὑπεροπτικὸν καὶ μεγαλόφρον ἐμφαίνει καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης λέγων οὕτως,

ὅτι βρενθύει τʼ ἐν ταῖσιν ὁδοῖς, καὶ τὠφθαλμὼ παραβάλλεις,

κἀνυπόδητος κακὰ πόλλʼ ἀνέχει, κἀν ἡμῖν σεμνοπροσωπεῖς.

καίτοι ἐνίοτε πρὸς τοὺς καιροὺς ἁρμοττόμενος καὶ λαμπρὰ ἠμπίσχετο· καθάπερ ἐν τῷ Πλάτωνος συμποσίῳ παρʼ Ἀγάθωνα βαδίζων.

[29] Ἱκανὸς δʼ ἀμφότερα ἦν, καὶ προτρέψαι καὶ ἀποτρέψαι. ὥσπερ τὸν Θεαίτητον περὶ ἐπιστήμης διαλεχθεὶς ἔνθεον ἀπέπεμψε, καθὰ καὶ Πλάτων φησίν. Εὐθύφρονα δὲ τῷ πατρὶ γραψάμενον ξενοκτονίας δίκην περὶ ὁσίου τινὰ διαλεχθεὶς ἀπήγαγε. καὶ τὸν Λύσιν δὲ ἠθικώτατον ἐποίησε προτρέψας. ἦν γὰρ ἱκανὸς ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων τοὺς λόγους εὑρίσκειν. ἐνέτρεψε δὲ καὶ Λαμπροκλέα τὸν υἱὸν τῇ μητρὶ ἀγριαινόμενον, ὥς που καὶ Ξενοφῶν εἴρηκε. καὶ Γλαύκωνα μὲν τὸν Πλάτωνος ἀδελφὸν θέλοντα πολιτεύεσθαι ἀπέστησε διὰ τὸ ἀπείρως ἔχειν, ὥς φησι Ξενοφῶν· Χαρμίδην δὲ τοὐναντίον ἔχοντα οἰκείως ἐπέστησεν.

[30] Ἐπῆρε δὲ καὶ εἰς φρόνημα Ἰφικράτην τὸν στρατηγόν, δείξας αὐτῷ τοῦ κουρέως Μειδίου ἀλεκτρυόνας ἀντίον τῶν Καλλίου πτερυξαμένους. καὶ αὐτὸν Γλαυκωνίδης ἠξίου τῇ πόλει περιποιεῖν καθάπερ φασιανὸν ὄρνιν ἢ ταώ.

Ἔλεγε δὲ ὡς θαυμαστὸν πρόβατα μὲν ἕκαστον εἰπεῖν ἂν ῥᾳδίως ὅσα ἔχει, φίλους δʼ οὐκ ἂν ὀνομάσαι ὁπόσους κέκτηται· οὕτως ὀλιγώρως ἔχειν περὶ αὐτούς. ὁρῶν δʼ Εὐκλείδην ἐσπουδακότα περὶ τοὺς ἐριστικοὺς λόγους, ὦ Εὐκλείδη, ἔφη, σοφισταῖς μὲν δυνήσῃ χρῆσθαι, ἀνθρώποις δὲ οὐδαμῶς. ἄχρηστον γὰρ ᾤετο εἶναι τὴν περὶ ταῦτα γλισχρολογίαν, ὡς καὶ Πλάτων ἐν Εὐθυδήμῳ φησί.

[31] Χαρμίδου τε οἰκέτας αὐτῷ διδόντος, ἵνʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν προσοδεύοιτο, οὐχ εἵλετο· καὶ τὸ κάλλος ὑπερεῖδεν Ἀλκιβιάδου κατά τινας. καὶ ἐπῄνει σχολὴν ὡς κάλλιστον κτημάτων, καθὰ καὶ Ξενοφῶν ἐν Συμποσίῳ φησίν. ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ ἓν μόνον ἀγαθὸν εἶναι, τὴν ἐπιστήμην, καὶ ἓν μόνον κακόν, τὴν ἀμαθίαν· πλοῦτον δὲ καὶ εὐγένειαν οὐδὲν σεμνὸν ἔχειν· πᾶν δὲ τοὐναντίον κακόν. εἰπόντος γοῦν τινος αὐτῷ ὡς εἴη Ἀντισθένης μητρὸς Θρᾴττης, σὺ δʼ ᾤου, ἔφη, οὕτως ἂν γενναῖον ἐκ δυοῖν Ἀθηναίων γενέσθαι; Φαίδωνα δὲ διʼ αἰχμαλωσίαν ἐπʼ οἰκήματος καθήμενον προσέταξε Κρίτωνι λυτρώσασθαι, καὶ φιλόσοφον ἀπειργάσατο.

[32] Ἀλλὰ καὶ λυρίζειν ἐμάνθανεν ἤδη γηραιός,¹ μηδὲν λέγων ἄτοπον εἶναι ἅ τις μὴ οἶδεν ἐκμανθάνειν. ἔτι τε ὠρχεῖτο συνεχές, τῇ τοῦ σώματος εὐεξίᾳ λυσιτελεῖν ἡγούμενος τὴν τοιαύτην γυμνασίαν, ὡς καὶ Ξενοφῶν ἐν Συμποσίῳ φησίν. ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ προσημαίνειν τὸ δαιμόνιον τὰ μέλλοντα αὐτῷ· τό τε εὖ [ἄρχεσθαι] μικρὸν μὲν μὴ εἶναι, παρὰ μικρὸν δέ· καὶ εἰδέναι μὲν μηδὲν πλὴν αὐτὸ τοῦτο [εἰδέναι]. τούς τε τὰ πρώϊμα πολλοῦ ἐωνημένους ἀπογινώσκειν ἔλεγεν εἰς τὰς ὥρας ἐλθεῖν. καί ποτε ἐρωτηθείς, τίς ἀρετὴ νέου, τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν, εἶπεν. ἔφασκέ τε δεῖν γεωμετρεῖν μέχρι ἄν τις μέτρῳ δύνηται γῆν παραλαβεῖν καὶ παραδοῦναι.

[33] Εὐριπίδου δʼ ἐν τῇ Αὔγῃ εἰπόντος περὶ ἀρετῆς,

κράτιστον εἰκῆ ταῦτʼ ἐᾶν ἀφειμένα,

ἀναστὰς ἐξῆλθε, φήσας γελοῖον εἶναι ἀνδράποδον μὲν μὴ εὑρισκόμενον ἀξιοῦν ζητεῖν, ἀρετὴν δʼ οὕτως ἐᾶν ἀπολωλέναι. ἐρωτηθεὶς πότερον γῆμαι ἢ μή, ἔφη, ὃ ἂν αὐτῶν ποιήσῃς, μεταγνώσῃ. ἐλεγέ τε θαυμάζειν τῶν τὰς λιθίνας εἰκόνας κατασκευαζομένων τοῦ μὲν λίθου προνοεῖν ὅπως ὁμοιότατος ἔσται, αὑτῶν δʼ ἀμελεῖν, ὡς μὴ ὁμοίους τῷ λίθῳ φαίνεσθαι. ἠξίου δὲ καὶ τοὺς νέους συνεχὲς κατοπτρίζεσθαι, ἵνʼ εἰ μὲν καλοὶ εἶεν, ἄξιοι γίγνοιντο· εἰ δʼ αἰσχροί, παιδείᾳ τὴν δυσείδειαν ἐπικαλύπτοιεν.

[34] Καλέσας ἐπὶ δεῖπνον πλουσίους, καὶ τῆς Ξανθίππης αἰδουμένης ἔφη, θάρρει· εἰ μὲν γὰρ εἶεν μέτριοι, συμπεριενεχθεῖεν ἄν· εἰ δὲ φαῦλοι, ἡμῖν αὐτῶν οὐδὲν μελήσει. ἔλεγέ τε τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ζῆν ἵνʼ ἐσθίοιεν· αὐτὸς δὲ ἐσθίειν ἵνα ζῴη. πρὸς τὸ οὐκ ἀξιόλογον πλῆθος ἔφασκεν ὅμοιον εἴ τις τετράδραχμον ἓν ἀποδοκιμάζων τὸν ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων σωρὸν ὡς δόκιμον ἀποδέχοιτο. Αἰσχίνου δὲ εἰπόντος, πένης εἰμὶ καὶ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἔχω, δίδωμι δέ σοι ἐμαυτόν, ἆρʼ οὖν, εἶπεν, οὐκ αἰσθάνῃ τὰ μέγιστά μοι διδούς; τὸν ἀποδυσπετοῦντα ἐπὶ τῷ παρορᾶσθαι, ὁπότε ἐπανέστησαν οἱ τριάκοντα, ἆρα, ἔφη, μήτι σοι μεταμέλει;

[35] πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα, θάνατόν σου κατέγνωσαν Ἀθηναῖοι, κἀκείνων, εἶπεν, ἡ φύσις. οἱ δὲ τοῦτʼ Ἀναξαγόρου φασί. τῆς γυναικὸς εἰπούσης, ἀδίκως ἀποθνήσκεις, σὺ δέ, ἔφη, δικαίως ἐβούλου; ὄναρ δόξας τινὰ αὐτῷ λέγειν,

ἤματί κεν τριτάτῳ Φθίην ἐρίβωλον ἵκοιο,

πρὸς Αἰσχίνην ἔφη, εἰς τρίτην ἀποθανοῦμαι. μέλλοντί τε αὐτῷ τὸ κώνειον πίεσθαι Ἀπολλόδωρος ἱμάτιον ἐδίδου καλόν, ἵνʼ ἐκείνῳ ἐναποθάνοι· καὶ ὅς, τί δέ, ἔφη, τὸ ἐμὸν ἱμάτιον ἐμβιῶναι μὲν ἐπιτήδειον, ἐναποθανεῖν δὲ οὐχί; πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα, κακῶς ὁ δεῖνά σε λέγει, καλῶς γάρ, ἔφη, λέγειν οὐκ ἔμαθε.

[36] στρέψαντος δὲ Ἀντισθένους τὸ διερρωγὸς τοῦ τρίβωνος εἰς τοὐμφανές, ὁρῶ σου, ἔφη, διὰ τοῦ τρίβωνος τὴν κενοδοξίαν. πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα, οὐ σοὶ λοιδορεῖται ὁ δεῖνα; οὐχί, ἔφη· ἐμοὶ γὰρ οὐ πρόσεστι ταῦτα. ἔλεγε δὲ τοῖς κωμικοῖς δεῖν ἐπίτηδες ἑαυτὸν διδόναι· εἰ μὲν γάρ τι τῶν προσόντων λέξειαν, διορθώσονται· εἰ δʼ οὔ, οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς. πρὸς Ξανθίππην πρότερον μὲν λοιδοροῦσαν, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ περιχέασαν αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἔλεγον, εἶπεν, ὅτι Ξανθίππη βροντῶσα καὶ ὕδωρ ποιήσει; πρὸς Ἀλκιβιάδην εἰπόντα ὡς οὐκ ἀνεκτὴ ἡ Ξανθίππη λοιδοροῦσα, ἀλλʼ ἔγωγʼ, ἔφη, συνείθισμαι, καθαπερεὶ καὶ τροχιλίας ἀκούων συνεχές.

[37] καὶ σὺ μέν, εἶπε, χηνῶν βοώντων ἀνέχῃ. τοῦ δὲ εἰπόντος, ἀλλά μοι ᾠὰ καὶ νεοττοὺς τίκτουσι, κἀμοί, φησί, Ξανθίππη παιδία γεννᾷ. ποτὲ αὐτῆς ἐν ἀγορᾷ καὶ θοἰμάτιον περιελομένης συνεβούλευον οἱ γνώριμοι χερσὶν ἀμύνασθαι, νὴ Δίʼ, εἶπεν, ἵνʼ ἡμῶν πυκτευόντων ἕκαστος ὑμῶν λέγῃ, εὖ Σώκρατες, εὖ Ξανθίππη. ἔλεγε συνεῖναι τραχείᾳ γυναικὶ καθάπερ οἱ ἱππικοὶ θυμοειδέσιν ἵπποις. ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐκεῖνοι, φησί, τούτων κρατήσαντες ῥᾳδίως τῶν ἄλλων περιγίνονται, οὕτω κἀγὼ Ξανθίππῃ χρώμενος τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις συμπεριενεχθήσομαι.

Ταῦτα δὴ καὶ τοιαῦτα λέγων καὶ πράττων πρὸς τῆς Πυθίας ἐμαρτυρήθη, Χαιρεφῶντι ἀνελούσης ἐκεῖνο δὴ τὸ περιφερόμενον,

ἀνδρῶν ἁπάντων Σωκράτης σοφώτατος.

[38] ἀφʼ οὗ δὴ καὶ ἐφθονήθη μάλιστα· καὶ δὴ καὶ ὅτι διήλεγχε τοὺς μέγα φρονοῦντας ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῖς ὡς ἀνοήτους, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ τὸν Ἄνυτον, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ Πλάτωνός ἐστι Μένωνι. οὗτος γὰρ οὐ φέρων τὸν ὑπὸ Σωκράτους χλευασμὸν πρῶτον μὲν ἐπήλειψεν αὐτῷ τοὺς περὶ Ἀριστοφάνην, ἔπειτα καὶ Μέλητον συνέπεισεν ἀπενέγκασθαι κατʼ αὐτοῦ γραφὴν ἀσεβείας καὶ τῶν νέων διαφθορᾶς.

Ἀπηνέγκατο μὲν οὖν τὴν γραφὴν ὁ Μέλητος, εἶπε δὲ τὴν δίκην Πολύευκτος, ὥς φησι Φαβωρῖνος ἐν Παντοδαπῇ ἱστορίᾳ· συνέγραψε δὲ τὸν λόγον Πολυκράτης ὁ σοφιστής, ὥς φησιν Ἕρμιππος, ἢ Ἄνυτος, ὥς τινες· προητοίμασε δὲ πάντα Λύκων ὁ δημαγωγός.

[39] Ἀντισθένης δʼ ἐν ταῖς τῶν φιλοσόφων Διαδοχαῖς καὶ Πλάτων ἐν Ἀπολογίᾳ τρεῖς αὐτοῦ κατηγορῆσαί φασιν, Ἄνυτον καὶ Λύκωνα καὶ Μέλητον· τὸν μὲν Ἄνυτον ὡς ὑπὲρ τῶν δημιουργῶν καὶ τῶν πολιτικῶν ὀργιζόμενον· τὸν δὲ Λύκωνα ὑπὲρ τῶν ῥητόρων· καὶ τὸν Μέλητον ὑπὲρ τῶν ποιητῶν, οὓς ἅπαντας ὁ Σωκράτης διέσυρε. Φαβωρῖνος δέ φησιν ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν Ἀπομνημονευμάτων μὴ εἶναι ἀληθῆ τὸν λόγον τὸν Πολυκράτους κατὰ Σωκράτους· ἐν αὐτῷ γάρ, φησί, μνημονεύει τῶν ὑπὸ Κόνωνος τειχῶν ἀνασταθέντων, ἃ γέγονεν ἔτεσιν ἓξ τῆς τοῦ Σωκράτους τελευτῆς ὕστερον. καὶ ἔστιν οὕτως ἔχον.

[40] Ἡ δʼ ἀντωμοσία τῆς δίκης τοῦτον εἶχε τὸν τρόπον· ἀνάκειται γὰρ ἔτι καὶ νῦν, φησὶ Φαβωρῖνος, ἐν τῷ Μητρῴῳ· τάδε ἐγράψατο καὶ ἀντωμόσατο Μέλητος Μελήτου Πιτθεὺς Σωκράτει Σωφρονίσκου Ἀλωπεκῆθεν· ἀδικεῖ Σωκράτης, οὓς μὲν ἡ πόλις νομίζει θεοὺς οὐ νομίζων, ἕτερα δὲ καινὰ δαιμόνια εἰσηγούμενος· ἀδικεῖ δὲ καὶ τοὺς νέους διαφθείρων. τίμημα θάνατος. ὁ δʼ οὖν φιλόσοφος, Λυσίου γράψαντος ἀπολογίαν αὐτῷ, διαναγνοὺς ἔφη, καλὸς μὲν ὁ λόγος, ὦ Λυσία, οὐ μὴν ἁρμόττων γʼ ἐμοί. δηλαδὴ γὰρ ἦν τὸ πλέον δικανικὸς ἢ ἐμφιλόσοφος.

[41] εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ Λυσίου, πῶς, εἰ καλός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος, οὐκ ἄν σοι ἁρμόττοι; ἔφη, οὐ γὰρ καὶ ἱμάτια καλὰ καὶ ὑποδήματα εἴη ἂν ἐμοὶ ἀνάρμοστα;

Κρινομένου δʼ αὐτοῦ φησιν Ἰοῦστος ὁ Τιβεριεὺς ἐν τῷ Στέμματι Πλάτωνα ἀναβῆναι ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα καὶ εἰπεῖν, νεώτατος ὤν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα ἀναβάντων· τοὺς δὲ δικαστὰς ἐκβοῆσαι, Κατάβα, κατάβα [τουτέστι κατάβηθι]. ὅτʼ οὖν² καὶ κατεδικάοθη διακοσίαις ὀγδοήκοντα μιᾷ πλείοσι ψήφοις τῶν ἀπολυουσῶν· καὶ τιμωμένων τῶν δικαστῶν τί χρὴ παθεῖν αὐτὸν ἢ ἀποτῖσαι, πέντε καὶ εἴκοσιν ἔφη δραχμὰς ἀποτίσειν. Εὐβουλίδης μὲν γάρ φησιν ἑκατὸν ὁμολογῆσαι·

[42] θορυβησάντων δὲ τῶν δικαστῶν, ἕνεκα μέν, εἶπε, τῶν ἐμοὶ διαπεπραγμένων τιμῶμαι τὴν δίκην τῆς ἐν πρυτανείῳ σιτήσεως.

Καὶ οἳ θάνατον αὐτοῦ κατέγνωσαν, προσθέντες ἄλλας ψήφους ὀγδοήκοντα. καὶ δεθεὶς μετʼ οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ἔπιε τὸ κώνειον, πολλὰ καλὰ κἀγαθὰ διαλεχθείς, ἃ Πλάτων ἐν τῷ Φαίδωνί φησιν. ἀλλὰ καὶ παιᾶνα κατά τινας ἐποίησεν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχή·

Δήλιʼ Ἄπολλον χαῖρε, καὶ Ἄρτεμι, παῖδε κλεεινώ.

Διονυσόδωρος δέ φησι μὴ εἶναι αὐτοῦ τὸν παιᾶνα. ἐποίησε δὲ καὶ μῦθον Αἰσώπειον οὐ πάνυ ἐπιτετευγμένως, οὗ ἡ ἀρχή·

Αἴσωπός ποτʼ ἔλεξε Κορίνθιον ἄστυ νέμουσι,

μὴ κρίνειν ἀρετὴν λαοδίκῳ σοφίῃ.

[43] Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἦν· Ἀθηναῖοι δʼ εὐθὺς μετέγνωσαν, ὥστε κλεῖσαι καὶ παλαίστρας καὶ γυμνάσια. καὶ τοὺς μὲν 〈ἄλλουσ〉 ³ ἐφυγάδευσαν, Μελήτου δὲ θάνατον κατέγνωσαν· Σωκράτην δὲ χαλκῇ εἰκόνι ἐτίμησαν, ἣν ἔθεσαν ἐν τῷ πομπείῳ, Λυσίππου ταύτην ἐργασαμένου. Ἄνυτόν τε ἐπιδημήσαντα αὐθημερὸν ἐξεκήρυξαν Ἡρακλεῶται. οὐ μόνον δʼ ἐπὶ Σωκράτους Ἀθηναῖοι πεπόνθασι τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ πλείστων ὅσων. καὶ γὰρ Ὅμηρον, καθά φησιν Ἡρακλείδης, πεντήκοντα δραχμαῖς ὡς μαινόμενον ἐζημίωσαν, καὶ Τυρταῖον παρακόπτειν ἔλεγον, καὶ Ἀστυδάμαντα πρότερον τῶν περὶ Αἰσχύλον ἐτίμησαν εἰκόνι χαλκῇ.

[44] Εὐριπίδης δὲ καὶ ὀνειδίζει αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ Παλαμήδει λέγων· ἐκάνετʼ ἐκάνετε τὰν πάνσοφον τὰν οὐδὲν ἀλγύνουσαν ἀηδόνα μουσᾶν. καὶ τάδε μὲν ὧδε. Φιλόχορος δέ φησι προτελευτῆσαι τὸν Εὐριπίδην τοῦ Σωκράτους.

Ἐγεννήθη δέ, καθά φησιν Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐν τοῖς Χρονικοῖς, ἐπὶ Ἀψεφίωνος ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ ἔτει τῆς ἑβδομηκοστῆς ἑβδόμης Ὀλυμπιάδος, Θαργηλιῶνος ἕκτῃ, ὅτε καθαίρουσιν Ἀθηναῖοι τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν Δήλιοι γενέσθαι φασίν. ἐτελεύτησε δὲ τῷ πρώτῳ ἔτει τῆς ἐνενηκοστῆς πέμπτης Ὀλυμπιάδος, γεγονὼς ἐτῶν ἑβδομήκοντα. ταὐτά φησι καὶ Δημήτριος ὁ Φαληρεύς. ἔνιοι δὲ ἑξήκοντα ἐτῶν τελευτῆσαι αὐτόν φασιν.

[45] Ἀμφότεροι δʼ ἤκουσαν Ἀναξαγόρου, καὶ οὗτος καὶ Εὐριπίδης, ὃς καὶ τῷ πρώτῳ ἔτει τῆς ἑβδομηκοστῆς πέμπτης Ὀλυμπιάδος ἐγεννήθη ἐπὶ Καλλιάδου.

Δοκεῖ δέ μοι καὶ περὶ τῶν φυσικῶν ὁ Σωκράτης διειλέχθαι· ὅπου γε καὶ περὶ προνοίας τινὰ διαλέγεται, καθά φησι καὶ Ξενοφῶν, καίτοι περὶ μόνων τῶν ἠθικῶν ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς λόγους αὐτὸν εἰπών. ἀλλὰ καὶ Πλάτων ἐν τῇ Ἀπολογίᾳ μνησθεὶς Ἀναξαγόρου καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν φυσικῶν, ἃ Σωκράτης ἀρνεῖται, περὶ τούτων αὐτὸς λέγει, καίπερ ἀνατιθεὶς πάντα Σωκράτει.

Φησὶ δʼ Ἀριστοτέλης μάγον τινὰ ἐλθόντα ἐκ Συρίας εἰς Ἀθήνας τά τε ἄλλα καταγνῶναι τοῦ Σωκράτους, καὶ δὴ καὶ βίαιον ἔσεσθαι τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτῷ.

[46] Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡμῶν εἰς αὐτὸν οὕτω·

πῖνέ νυν ἐν Διὸς ὤν, ὦ Σώκρατες· ἦ σε γὰρ ὄντως

καὶ σοφὸν εἶπε θεός, καὶ θεὸς ἡ σοφίη.

πρὸς γὰρ Ἀθηναίων κώνειον ἁπλῶς σὺ ἐδέξω·

αὐτοὶ δʼ ἐξέπιον τοῦτο τεῷ στόματι.

Τούτῳ τις, καθά φησιν Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν τρίτῳ Περὶ ποιητικῆς, ἐφιλονείκει Ἀντίλοχος Λήμνιος καὶ Ἀντιφῶν ὁ τερατοσκόπος, ὡς Πυθαγόρᾳ Κύλων Κροτωνιάτης· καὶ Σύαγρος Ὁμήρῳ ζῶντι, ἀποθανόντι δὲ Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος· καὶ Κέρκωψ Ἡσιόδῳ ζῶντι, τελευτήσαντι δὲ ὁ προειρημένος Ξενοφάνης· καὶ Πινδάρῳ Ἀμφιμένης ὁ Κῷος· Θάλητι δὲ Φερεκύδης καὶ Βίαντι Σάλαρος Πριηνεύς· Πιττακῷ Ἀντιμενίδας καὶ Ἀλκαῖος, Ἀναξαγόρᾳ Σωσίβιος, καὶ Σιμωνίδῃ Τιμοκρέων.

[47] Τῶν δὲ διαδεξαμένων αὐτὸν τῶν λεγομένων Σωκρατικῶν οἱ κορυφαιότατοι μὲν Πλάτων, Ξενοφῶν, Ἀντισθένης· τῶν δὲ φερομένων δέκα οἱ διασημότατοι τέσσαρες, Αἰσχίνης, Φαίδων, Εὐκλείδης, Ἀρίστιππος. λεκτέον δὲ πρῶτον περὶ Ξενοφῶντος, εἶτα περὶ Ἀντισθένους ἐν τοῖς κυνικοῖς, ἔπειτα περὶ τῶν Σωκρατικῶν, εἶθʼ οὕτω περὶ Πλάτωνος, ἐπεὶ κατάρχει τῶν δέκα αἱρέσεων καὶ τὴν πρώτην Ἀκαδημείαν αὐτὸς συνεστήσατο. ἡ μὲν οὖν ἀκολουθία τοῦτον ἐχέτω τὸν τρόπον.

Γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἕτερος Σωκράτης, ἱστορικός, περιήγησιν Ἄργους γεγραφώς· καὶ ἄλλος περιπατητικός, Βιθυνός· καὶ ἕτερος ἐπιγραμμάτων ποιητής· καὶ ὁ Κῷος, ἐπικλήσεις θεῶν γεγραφώς.

Notes on the current edition

Lives of Eminent Philosophers

1. So Cobet for vulgate Mnesilochus, retained by Meineke, C.G.F. ii. 371.

2. There is a pun in Φρύγες and φρύγανα (= firewood).

3. Meineke, C.G.F. ii. 739.

4. A mistake for Teleclides: see Meineke, Comicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ii. p. 371 sq. Dindorf conjectured that τὰς σωκρατογόμφους belongs to the same passage of Teleclides’ Clouds and might well follow σοφάς.

5. Fr. 25 d.

6. Possibly the reference is to the same citation as in 19 which Diogenes Laertius may have found independently in two of his authorities. Diogenes himself notices the agreement between Favorinus and Idomeneus of Lampsacus, a much earlier author, for he was a disciple of Epicurus, whom he knew from 310 to 270 b.c.

7. Hom. Od. iv. 392.

8. The reason assigned for an expedition to Potidaea by sea will not hold. Communications between Athens and Thrace were, as a rule, made by sea. Moreover, the siege of Potidaea began in 432 b.c., the year before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war. It has been suggested that the words διὰ θαλάττης ... κωλύοντος should properly follow Ἰσθμόν eight lines lower down. If any Athenian wished to attend the Isthmian games during the early part of the Peloponnesian war, it was probably safer not to risk the land journey owing to the bitter hostility of the Megarians.

9. Stobaeus, Florilegium, lvi. 15, attributes these and three preceding lines to Philemon, the well-known poet of the New Comedy. If Philemon wrote them, Socrates cannot have recited them, however well they express his temper.

10. Clouds, 412-417.

11. Sc. in the Connus, Meineke, C.G.F. i. 201 sq., ii. 703.

12. Clouds, 362.

13. 174 a.

14. Mem. iii. 7.

15. This line, now found in Eur. Electra, 379, may have come into our text from the lost play Auge: cf. Nauck, T.G.F. 2, p. 437, s.v. ΑΥΓΗ.

16. Hom. Il. ix. 363.

17. The proposal that Socrates should escape from prison was attributed to Aeschines as well as to Crito (see below, 60). The Homeric citation occurs in Plato’s Crito, 44 b.

18. 95 a.

19. The confusion in the last sentence of 38 is due to the insertion in the wrong place of two extracts, one from Favorinus and the other from Hermippus. When these are removed, the parts assigned to the three accusers, Meletus, Anytus and Lycon, become clear: ἀπηνέγκατο μὲν οὖν τὴν γραφὴν ὁ Μέλητος, εἶπε δὲ τὴν δίκην Ἄνυτος, προητοίμασε δὲ πάντα Λύκων ὁ δημαγωγός.

20. Anth. Plan. iv. 16.

21. Most probably Heraclides of Pontus. This remarkable assertion may have occurred in one of his dialogues, and was perhaps not meant to be taken seriously.

22. Nauck, T.G.F. 2, Eur. 588.

23. 469-468 b.c.

24. 400-399 b.c.

25. 480-479 b.c.

26. 26 d.

27. Anth. Pal. vii. 96.

28. The text would perhaps be clearer if we transposed thus: τῶν δὲ διαδεξαμένων αὐτὸν οἱ κορυφαιότατοι μὲν Πλάτων, Ξενοφῶν, Ἀντισθένης. τῶν δὲ λεγομένων Σωκρατικῶν οἱ διασημότατοι τέσσαρες, Αἰσχίνης, Φαίδων, Εὐκλείδης, Ἀρίστιππος κτλ ... εἶθ’ οὔτω περὶ Πλάτωνος· ἐπεὶ κατάρχει τῶν φερομένων δέκα αἱρέσεων. The division of moral philosophers into ten schools was mentioned above, i. 18.

Diogenes Laertius Vitae philosophorum 2.5

R. D. Hicks (Translator)

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