Figuring It Out

I just finished re-reading one of my favorite books, Plato’s Apology. It’s in the Apology where Socrates says that “…the unexamined life is not worth living.” It’s such a rich story, full of so much timeless wisdom.

Socrates had been brought to trial and accused of corrupting the youth and denying the gods, which is a capital offense. The Apology is Socrates’ defense. While he was accused of teaching strange, new doctrines, he explains that he doesn’t so much teach new things as investigate old things, and that deep investigation is what got him into trouble, because in his investigations he uncovered the flaws in conventional wisdom and embarrassed people of some prominence.

Socrates, as it turns out, did not claim to be wise at all, except that he knew that he was not wise, which actually made him wiser than those who thought they were wise but were not. His friend Chaerephon apparently thought that Socrates was very wise and had gone to the oracle of Delphi to ask her if there was anyone wiser. She told him that that there was no one wiser than Socrates. Socrates could not believe that, so set out to prove her wrong by seeking out and talking to people who he was sure must be wiser than him.

First, Socrates went to a politician and found that though many thought he was wise, especially the politician himself, he was not wise at all. Next, he visited poets; who would be like our writers, screen writers, news writers, and directors today; but he found them to be very much like the politician. They were eloquent but didn’t really understand what they were saying. Finally, he went to craftsmen, not expecting them to know much outside of their own trade, and he was right. He found that since they did have great skill in their particular trade, they thought that they were skilled in all forms of wisdom. In each case, Socrates went away knowing that he was actually the wiser person for the simple fact that he knew that he was not wise at all, but the other thought he was wise when he was not. He didn’t even bother to ask actors. He must have known that professional pretenders wouldn’t know anything. Solomon observed that “There is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Similarly, Marcus Aurelius wrote, “You should frequently reflect that the world was always the same, and that things went on formerly precisely as they now do, and that they will do the same in all future times” (Meditations 10:27). How is it that in the 2421 years since Socrates death, we have learned so little about what really matters?

Another of my favorite parts of the Apology is the end where Socrates explains why he does not beg for his life to be spared and is unwilling to compromise to have an easier life or even to continue living. He explains that to fear death is to think that one is wise when he is not, because nobody knows if death is good or bad. As a Christian, I believe that while dying is often painful and therefore scary, the death of a faithful Christian is nothing to fear. After all “perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Socrates was not a Christian but he did believe that death would either be a peaceful sleep or a reward for living a life that he believed had been just. With that in mind he said,

“Nothing will injure me, not Meletus nor yet Anytus–they cannot, for a bad man is not permitted to injure a better than himself. I do not deny that Anytus may, perhaps, kill him, or drive him into exile, or deprive him of civil rights; and he may imagine, and others may imagine, that he is inflicting a great injury upon him: but there I do not agree. For the evil of doing as he is doing–the evil of unjustly taking away the life of another–is greater far.”

Socrates’ concern was more for those who were committing injustice of putting him to death than for himself. We reap what we sow and sin always catches up with you. That is a universal truth. The just will get their reward and the unjust will get their reward with interest.

I see some parallels in the way Socrates faced death and the way Christian martyrs like Polycarp and Ignatius faced death. I think that peace in the face of death came from their deep faith that God would take care of them in eternity if they could remain strong in their faith. Of course, Socrates did not understand God the way Christians do but he did have some idea that the true God must be benevolent and reward the just.

One thing I wonder is if we will see Socrates in heaven. I don’t know the answer, maybe, I hope so, I’d like to talk to him. I think there is some encouragement in the scriptures in Romans 2:14-16 where Paul tells us, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” So, maybe God’s grace and mercy will extend to some of our ancient predecessors who diligently sought the truth. For us today, our best hope of seeing Socrates in heaven is reaching Heaven ourselves through Jesus Christ, “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). I love studying Socrates but Jesus is much better. Socrates was honestly seeking the truth and stumbled upon some of it. Jesus IS the way, the truth, and the life and nobody can come to the Father except through him (John 14:6)

It’s a short book. If you haven’t already, I hope you will read it and enjoy it as much as I have.

For further reading

You can download the Apology by Plato from Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1656

Or you can get Greek text with an English translation of The Apology and a few of Plato’s dialogs at Archive.org https://archive.org/details/plato01plat/page/60/mode/2up

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is available at https://archive.org/details/communingswithhi0000marc/page/280/mode/2up