y transliteration of Greek text into
English using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table. The
diacritical marks have been lost.

THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES [1]

Among the reminiscences of Socrates, none, as it seems to me, is more
deserving of record than the counsel he took with himself [2] (after
being cited to appear before the court), not only with regard to his
defence, but also as to the ending of his life. Others have written on
this theme, and all without exception have touched upon [3] the lofty
style of the philosopher, [4] which may be taken as a proof that the
language used by Socrates was really of that type. But none of these
writers has brought out clearly the fact that Socrates had come to
regard death as for himself preferable to life; and consequently there
is just a suspicion of foolhardiness in the arrogancy of his
address. [5] We have, however, from the lips of one of his intimate
acquaintances, Hermogenes, [6] the son of Hipponicus, an account of him
which shows the high demeanour in question to have been altogether in
keeping with the master's rational purpose. [7] Hermogenes says that,
seeing Socrates discoursing on every topic rather than that of his
impending trial, he roundly put it to him whether he ought not to be
debating the line of his defence, to which Socrates in the first
instance answered: "What! do I not seem to you to have spent my whole
life in meditating my defence?" And when Hermogenes asked him, "How?"
he added: "By a lifelong persistence in doing nothing wrong, and that
I take to be the finest practice for his defence which a man could
devise." Presently reverting to the topic, Hermogenes demanded: "Do
you not see, Socrates, how often Athenian juries [8] are constrained by
arguments to put quite innocent people to death, and not less often to
acquit the guilty, either through some touch of pity excited by the
pleadings, or that the defendant had skill to turn some charming
phrase?" Thus appealed to, Socrates replied: "Nay, solemnly I tell
you, twice already I have essayed to consider my defence, and twice
the divinity [9] hinders me"; and to the remark of Hermogenes, "That is
strange!" he answered again: "Strange, do you call it, that to God it
should seem better for me to die at once? Do you not know that up to
this moment I will not concede to any man to have lived a better life
than I have; since what can exceed the pleasure, which has been mine,
of knowing [10] t