Part III.

(I ^tan. bift. 2,
f Laert.
* Xemph. memor. i.
S O C R A T E S.
8.7
tar, but being dragged irom thence by the Of- hcers, he behaved himfelf like ( faith Diodo¬ rus) the Difciple of Socrates ^ the People pitied him, but none of them durlt ofter - to help him, becaufe be was compafs’d in by the Soldiers, except Socrates and two of his com¬ panions, who ran to him and endeavoured to refcue him out of the hands of the Officers ^ Thcramenes defired them to forbear, telling them that he much loved and commend¬ ed their Kindnels and Vertue, but that it would be the greateft misfortune he could have, iftheirlove to him fhould occafion their deaths-, whereupon Socrates and his Compa¬ nions feeing none come in to join with them in his Aid, and that the contrar Party was too itrong tor them, gave over ; Dherame/ies was carried to Prifon, and there (being fentenced to drink Hemlock) died.
Thele outrages of the thirty Tyrants Socra- tes did not fbr&ar to cenfure : || Seeing many eyninent Ferfons put to deathyind the- rich circum¬ vented and betray’d to excejjive punijhments^ he faid to Antifthenes, Doth it repent thee that we have done nothing in our whole lives great and re- makable^ as thofe Monarchs zvho are deferibed in Tragedies^ Atreus’s,Thyefl:es’s, Agamemnon’s and Egilthus’s ? They are in thofe Flays beheaded^ feafed with their own Flejh^ and generally de- flroyed ; but no Foet was ever fo bold and im* pudent as to bring a Hog killed upon the Stage.
+ To another, who murmured becaufe he znas not lookeduponfince they began to rule., Are you forry for it., faid he ? He faid likewile , that it were flrange if a "Neatherd zvho diminifhed and "impoverijhed his herd, fhould not confefs him- felf an ill Neatherdfutmore jirange ^hat one who being fet over the City, made the Citizens worfe, and their number lejs , fhould not confefs h'mfelf an "illGovernour. This came to the'ir Knowledge, whereupon Critias and Charicles fent for him, andjorbadhimfiri&ly to teach or difcourfe w'lth any of the young Men. Socrates asked them if in aUs of prohibition he might be permitted to quef'i- on what he underflood not, which they granting •, Then ( continues he)l am ready to obey the Laws, bhtJefl I trangrefs them thro* Ignorance, I defire to be informed, whether when you forbid me the aU of Speaking, this oB be to be underflood of things fpoken rightly or not rightly ffof the firfl, J mujl , abflain from fpeaking what is light -, if of the Second, Imufltake care to fpeak nothing but zvhat is right . Hereupon Ch^ndes being dif pleafed,faid , S'lnceyouunderflood not that. So* crates , we command you what is eafier to be un¬ der flood, that hence forward you fpeak not at all with any of the Toung Men 'To take away all am¬ biguity, replies Socrates,, that I maynot exceed my limitation •, let me know exprefly at what years you call a Toung Alan ; So long,faithC\s'aiifD.'s,,a^ be is uncap able of being Senaiour, and hath not attained Jo the heighth of his Judgment you are not to fpeak with any under thirty-, Alay I not huy,anfwers '^QZi2X'ez,of any under that age, nor ask them the price of any thing ? That you may, faith Charicles, but your cuflom is to ask queflions (f things whichyou knozvvery zvell forbear thofe: And
may. lou muji {continues ChmD 'ref am from the Artificers, whofe Ears you have fuffidently grated With your impertinent Difcourfe-, Imifl then abflain {faithSocrtttQS ) from Jufl ice, Fiety, and the like -, even from the very Neatherds, re¬ plies Charicles, zvhich unlefs you do, take heed your Herd come not fhort home.
This ill will and jealoufie which they had, conceived againft Socrates was increafed by ili * lecret departure of fome Friends of his out of the City, which was reported to he donebyhi'^ contrivement, to give intelligence to the The¬ bans : nor was that fufpicion without realbn - as is manifeft by his laft Epiltle: Hereupon they fnmraonedhim into the Court, where Ibme Complaints were brought againfl him of which having acquitted himfelf, they (to get a better Cauleof quarrel againfl him)gave order to him and fbur more to go to the Fyra;um,2.\A to apprehend Leon, whom they meant to put to Death, that they might poflefs his Eltate : But Socrates refufed, adding, that he would never willingly affifl an unjiift aft-, whereupon Chari- cles faid,_ Doft thou think Socrates, to talk thus peremptorily, and not to fuffer ? A thoufandills anfwered Socrates, but none fo grievous as to do unjuft] y. Charicles made no reply, nor any of the reft -, the other four went for Leon,Socra- tes direblly tohisHoufe ^ but from thencefor¬ ward, the Jealoufie they had of him was fo much enefeafed, that if their Power had nor beenfoon diffolved, they |would have gone near to have taken away his Life.
’f' Flat. ApoL
CHAP. XL
His falling out .w'lth the Sophifls, and w'lth Any- tus.
TH E Sophifts Alajiers of Language in thofe
times, faith t Cicero {tvhereofwM' Qorgm'i f Brut A of Lecontium,Thrafiraachus of Chalcedon, Pro¬ tagoras of Abdera, Prodicus a Cian, Hippias an Elian, and many other's J prof efl in Arrogant Words to teach, how an ' infer lour Caufe (fuch zvas their Fhrafe) might by Speaking, be made SuperioUr, ^ and ufed a Jzveet fluent kind of* oratou Rhetor 'ick,argute in Sentence, lofty iri wo^ds fitter for Ofientahonthan plead'ing, for the Schools and. Acaddmies.rather than the Foruin, were fb highly efteemed, that f'^wheiefoever they came, they j. could perfwade the young Men toforjake all other . •
Converfat 'ion for theirs. ^ Thele Socrates op- pofed', and often by his fubtiliy of difputing, re- felling their Frinciples , f with his accuflomedi^ ijha.n. Interrogatories, de-morfirated that , they, were ApJ "indeed much b'enecdhDve Efleem the^f ad gained, that they thernfelves Mderflood ndffing of that which they undertbokio teach others-,pe withdrew the young Men from' their empty Converfat'ion'.
Thdfe, who till then had been looked upon as An¬ gels for W'lt andEloftence, he proved to be vain , affeblers of Weirds, ignorant of thofe thing's zvhich they profejjed, dnd'h'ari more need tg give Alony to be taught, than to take (as they uivd)Alony The Athenians taken with theje
for Teaching.
fhall / not then, replies Socrii^es, ma.ke affzver if \ Reproofs whichSocratesgave them, derided tiiem, any one .isk me where Charicles dwells, or where | and excited their Children to the fludy of folid Critias li ^ To fuch nueft'ionsfa'ith Charicles, , Vertue.
' \ Another
88
SO CB. ATE S.