Plato's Apology of Socrates: A Literary and Philosophical Study with a Running Commentary 9004101039, 9789004101036

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PLATO'S APOLOGY OF SOCRATES A LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL STUDY WITH A RUNNING COMMENT ARY

EDITED AND COMPLETED FROM THE PAPERS OF THE LATE E. DE STRYCKER, SJ.

BY

S.R. SLINGS

E.J. BRILL LEIDEN · NEW YORK · KOLN 1994

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Strycker, E. de (Emile), 1907-1978. Plato's Apology of Socrates : a literary and philosophical study with a running commentary I edited and completed from the papers of the late E. de Strycker, by S.R. Slings. p. cm. - (Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum, ISSN 0 169-8958 ; 137) Includes index ISBN 9004101039 (alk. paper) 1. Plato. Apology. I. Slings, S.R. II. Title. III. Series. B365.S77 1994 l 84--dc20 94-20723 CIP

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme [Mnemosyne / Supplementum] Mnemosyne : bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum. Leiden ; New York ; Koln : Brill. Fruher Schriftenreihe

137. Slings, Simon R.: Plato's Apology of Socrates. -1994

Slings, Simon R.: Plato's Apology of Socrates : a literary and philosophical study with a running commentary / ed. and completed from the papers of the late E. de Strycker, by S.R. Slings. - Leiden ; New York; Koln : Brill, 1994 Mnemosyne : Supplementum ; 137) ISBN 90-04-10103-9

ISSN 0 169-8958 ISBN 90 04 10103 9

Copyright1994

by E.]. Brill, Leiden,TheNetherlands

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ............................................. Second Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER I: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. The Historicity of the Platonic Apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Intention of the Platonic Apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a) The Apology as a Defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b) The Apology as a Portrait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c) The Apology as an Exhortation to Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. The Date of the Platonic Apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. The Plan of the Platonic Apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER II: The Exordium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. The Line of Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Gorgianic Oratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. The Rhetorical Commonplaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Socrates' Own Conception of Oratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER III: Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. Exordium and Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Proposition of the Apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER IV: Refutation of the Old Accusers. Negative part . . . . . 1. Refutation According to Fourth-Century Rhetoric . . . . . . . . . . . 2. General Remarks about the Refutation of the Old Accusers . . . . 3. Remarks about the Contents of the Paragraphs 19a8-d7 and 19d8-20c3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Remarks about the Literary Structure of the Same Paragraphs . . CHAPTERV: The Narration ............................ 1. General Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Philosophical Significance of the Narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Literary Technique of the Narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Character Painting in the Narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. The Oracle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER VI: Refutation of the New Accusers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. Introductory Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Official Text of the Indictment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. The Legal Basis of the Indictment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. The Accusers and their Motives for Impeaching Socrates . . . . . 5. The 'Interrogation' of Meletus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a) Cross-Examination in the Treatises on Rhetoric and in the Orators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ix . xi xv . 1 . 1 . 8 . 8 10 13 16 21 27 27 28 31 36 41 41 46 49 49 50 52 55 59 59 62 68 70 74 83 83 84 86 91 101 101

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

b) The Questioning in the Apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. The Refutation of the First Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a) First Problem: Who Makes the Young Better? . . . . . . . . . . b) Second Problem: Is it Possible to Corrupt Wilfully? . . . . . . 7. The Refutation of the Second Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. The Conclusion of the 'EpcotTlcncp'ClU't'T}l. OOUA.(; 611EXEtto 1t£ta0i,vm· ei 6£ µ116EV fott t£A.Eut11aavttKtErepeats the dilemma of Apol. 40c44 lc7 and sheds no new light on our problem.

TIDRD SPEECH

225

that the soul does not survive death (among them a reference to 'the honours paid to the dead', totiA.11oav; Lys. ii 70; Hyperid. Epit. 9 1tQ'}J.jj)v aya0rov 'tllt1tatpio1; Pl. Menex. 237a4. at'ttOl.Y£'YEV11VtClt 116 See above, n.26 and 35.

239

TIDRD SPEECH

Nothing of the sort is to be found in the final paragraph. Socrates does not, of course, adopt rhetorical language, and the passage contains some informal features ('it is clear to me', 4ld3-4; 'troubles' (1tpcxyµcitcov), d4; 'I am not very angry', d7; above all the breaking-off yap at 42a2, which parallels the main break in the First Speech, cf. Chapter VII 127). Yet the tone becomes serious and less personal, the sentences short, regular and formal 117 . 42al-2 cxut6~ tE 1ecxtoi ue'i~ may even be a legal formula (cf. in loc.). Also significant are the repetitions, which seem designed to lend the greatest possible clarity to the themes118 • In the face of death, Socrates remains true to himself; his parting words are strikingly sober and earnest.

a'JJJJ.

117

For the syntactic structure of 4 le2-7, cf. note in loc. If I am right in asswning sentenceend after e5 ov-ce;the longest sentence in this chapter takes up 4½ lines. 118 41d6 -co~ 1ea'ta'l"lcptoaµivo~µo\) 1eal-co~ 1eanrY6pot;- d8 Ka'tE'flllq>t~ov-c6 µo\) 1eal Kanr,6pow; e3 -cairta 'tatrta AmtOUV'tE; 0.1tEpeyro i>µ~ EAU1tOW ~ e6 OVEt6t~E'tE airto'i;

roo1tEphroi>µiv.

COMMENTARY 1. 17al-18a6 Exordium 17al c1>av6pa; 'A8qvaio1:on the use of this formula instead of the more usual roav6pec; 6tKcxatcxi, see, besides Burnet (in Loe.), Gorg. 522cl-2 with Dodds' important note in Loe. xexovOa,;ethe verb seems to convey the idea mx0oc;,a 'mood', taking hold of the mind and disturbing its normal balance; cf. Phaedr. 251al-252c2 (mood provoked by epcoc;);Symp. 198c2 (by cp6~oc;).215d6-216b3 (on the disturbance caused in Alcibiades by the talks of Socrates).

a2

£'Ym ... IC(X\