Volume 1 Chapter 1 I have often wondered what arguments the prosecutors against Socrates used to convince the Athenians that he should be condemned to death by the city.The gist of their indictment against him was this: Socrates violated the law in that he disrespected the gods honored by the city and introduced new ones; In the first place, what arguments do they give for saying that he does not honor the gods whom the city honors?It is well known that he often offered sacrifices at home and on the public altars of the city; it is not unknown that he practiced divination; for Socrates often said that the gods taught him, the phrase The word has become the common phrase of the people; in fact, they charge him with introducing new gods, which is largely inferred from this circumstance.Yet he introduced no newer gods than those who practiced divination, and consulted for signs, sounds, omens, and sacrifices; It is beneficial to those who are not, but believe that the gods use them as a medium to reveal those things that foretell good and bad; such is the view embraced by Socrates.Most people superficially say that they avoid or tend to a certain thing because they are inspired by birds or people who meet them, but Socrates speaks from the thoughts in his heart, because he says , the gods are his counselors.He also frequently advised many of his friends to do certain things and not others, and implied that the gods had forewarned him; Everyone regrets it.

Who can deny that Socrates did not want to appear to his friends a fool or a boaster?But if, after he says he was instructed by God, he turns out to be a liar, he will appear both a fool and a boaster.So, obviously, if he didn't believe his words would be proven, he wouldn't have spoken up front.But who would trust anyone but God in such matters?How can a person who trusts in God think that there is no God?He also acted according to his own beliefs in dealing with his friends, for he always advised them to do those necessary and fruitful things in the way he thought best; They go to divination to decide where to go.He said that anyone who wanted to manage a family or a city well needed divination; as for those who wanted to be proficient in architecture, metalwork, agriculture, or human management, or wanted to be a critic in this kind of art, or be a master who was good at Reasoning, being a good housekeeper, or wanting to be a capable general, all these kinds of things, he thought, were entirely learning problems that could be mastered by the human intellect.But he said that the gods kept for themselves the most important keys in matters of this kind, which were invisible to man; As a result, not all people who build houses well must live in them; it is not necessarily beneficial for a person who is good at soldiers to become a general; It may not be good; those who marry a beautiful wife and want to be happy because of her may not be immune to misfortune because of her;He calls madmen those who think that these things do not change according to the will of the gods, but are determined by the intellect of man, just as he calls on astrology for those things which the gods have allowed man to use their faculties to discover. For example, a person asks: Is it better to use a man who knows how to drive a chariot, or a man who does not know how to drive a chariot?Is it better to have a ship run by a man who knows how to steer a ship, or to run a ship by a man who doesn't know how to steer a ship?For another example, it is the same to ask God for things that can be figured out through calculation, measurement, and weighing.Socrates believed that anyone who asked God about such matters was guilty of impiety.He said that the duty of man is to learn what the gods have taught him to learn through learning, and at the same time try to ask the gods to show him those things that are hidden from people through the method of divination. will point things out to them.

Socrates is often seen in public places.He used to go there in the morning for a walk and exercise; when the market place was crowded, he could always be seen there; He gave speeches, and anyone who liked was free to listen to him.But Socrates was never seen to do ungodly things, or say blasphemous words; for he did not, like most other philosophers, debate the nature of things, and speculate how what the sophists call the universe came into being. Yes, all objects in the sky are formed by some necessary law.On the contrary, he always seeks to prove the foolishness of those who would rather ponder such subjects.First, he often asked them whether it was because they thought they knew enough about human affairs to pursue such subjects further, or whether it was because they thought they knew enough about celestial affairs, though Appropriately done.He was still more amazed that they could not see that it is impossible for man to satisfy himself with such things, since even those who pride themselves on studying them disagree with each other, and They are fighting with each other like crazy.For some crazy people are not afraid of what they should be afraid of, and others are afraid of things they should not be afraid of; some are not ashamed of doing or saying anything in front of people, while others think One should not come among men at all; some have no respect for temples, altars, or anything dedicated to the gods, others worship stone, wood, and beasts; Some think that all existence is one, while others think that there are infinite worlds; some think that everything is in perpetual motion, while others think that nothing moves; some think that everything is in motion Happening and decaying, others think that nothing is happening or decaying.

Of this class of philosophers, he also asks, are not, like those who have learned the art of man, wishing to put it into practice for themselves, or for those whom they will? Practically, too, those who study heavenly things, when they have discovered the laws by which they are brought about, wish also to make winds, rains, seasons, and whatever else they themselves may wish, or they have not. Such hopes, but contentment only with knowing how such things happen?This is what he said of those who were engaged in such studies; what is inappropriate; what is just and what is unjust; what is sane and what is unsound; what is stoic and what is cowardice; what is state and what is statesmanship manners; what is government over the people, and what is the character of a man who governs well; there are other questions which he considers worthy and respectable to those who are well versed in them; who can rightly be regarded as not much better than slaves.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the judges should have misjudged Socrates on questions on which he had not expressed an opinion, but it is strange that they should have failed to take into account what is well known.When he was a member of Parliament, he took an oath of office as a member, in which he stated that he would vote according to law.He was the president of the assembly of the people when the people asked him to take an illegal vote to execute Therasuelos, Erasinides, and their associates, though the crowd was angry with him and many powerful men spoke to threaten him. , asked him to put it to a vote, he refused, thinking it more important to obey the oath than to violate justice to meet the demands of the masses, or to compromise under threat.For he thought that the gods did not regard men as some imagine, who think they know some things and not others; Missed in silence.The gods are omnipresent and point out to man all things concerning man.

I wonder, therefore, how the Athenians could think Socrates' view of the gods was unsound.He never said or did anything ungodly to God, and what he said and did about the gods were such things that if any others said and did the same, they would be thought, And indeed it was once considered very pious.