This post looks at the section of Plato’s Apology from 24b to 28a, where Plato directly addresses the accusations of Meletus. I’m going to quote and paraphrase Plato’s presentation based on G.M.A. Grube’s translation. This section proves to be the only sustained address by Socrates to the formal charges. Even here he seems to treat […]

This post looks at the section of Plato’s Apology from 21a to 24b in which Plato explores the impact of the Delphic oracle. I’m going to quote and paraphrase Plato’s presentation based on G.M.A. Grube’s translation. (21a – 23b) In the previous post I mentioned how the oracle at Delphi told Chaerephon, in reply to […]

This post looks at the section of Plato’s Apology from 19a to 21a which addresses the old prejudice against Socrates, gives his view of teaching sophistry, and presents the Delphic oracle on his wisdom. I’m going to paraphrase Plato’s presentation since this section is longer using G.M.A. Grube’s translation and add comments as I go. […]

This post looks at the section covering 18a to 19a of the Apology which comes after Socrates’ introduction in the previous section and lays out how he will respond to his charges. I’ll quote from the Benjamin Jowett translation at Project Gutenberg. And first, I have to reply to the older charges and to my […]

I’ll quote from the Benjamin Jowett translation at Project Gutenberg, although I may occasionally reference the G.M.A. Grube translation in my book. How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that they almost made me forget who I was—so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have […]

I’m going to take a slightly different approach with Plato’s Apology. The work is remarkable and I think worth exploring (or revisiting for those who have already read it) so I’ll take extra time and posts to quote excerpts and make comments along the way. I’d like to quote the first paragraph of the introduction […]

My earlier posts on Euthyphro provide links to the text and commentary. They also cover some of the drama, arguments and general online resources on Plato. This post covers some final thoughts on Euthyphro. All quotes from the dialogue in this post are from the translation by G.M.A. Grube. Since the Euthyphro ends in an […]

Several versions of Euthyphro are available online, including translations by Benjamin Jowett and Cathal Woods and Ryan Pack. LibriVox has an audio version of the dialogue. Online guides to the dialogue can be found by at the Wikipedia summary. My first post on Euthyphro can be found here and my online resources post for Plato can is located […]

From the introduction of Euthyphro in Plato: Complete Works, edited by John M. Cooper: The scene is the agora or central marketplace of Athens, before the offices of the magistrate who registers and makes preliminary inquiries into charges brought under the laws protecting the city from the gods’ displeasure. There Socrates meets Euthyphro—Socrates is on […]