Apology Quotes

“When I began to talk with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and still wiser by himself.”

“Some one may wonder why I go about in private giving advice and busying myself with the concerns of others, but do not venture to come forward in public and advise the state. I will tell you why. You have heard me speak at sundry times and in divers places of an oracle or sign which comes to me, and is the divinity which Meletus ridicules in the indictment. This sign, which is a kind of voice, first began to come to me when I was a child; it always forbids but never commands me to do anything which I am going to do. This is what deters me from being a politician.”

“I swear to you, Athenians, by the dog I swear!”

“God only is wise; and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing; he is not speaking of Socrates, he is only using my name by way of illustration, as if he said, He, O men, is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing.”

“I can give you convincing evidence of what I say, not words only, but what you value far more—actions.”

“And now, Athenians, I am not going to argue for my own sake, as you may think, but for yours, that you may not sin against the God by condemning me, who am his gift to you.”

“I showed, not in word only but in deed, that, if I may be allowed to use such an expression, I cared not a straw for death, and that my great and only care was lest I should do an unrighteous or unholy thing.”

“I go about the world, obedient to the god, and search and make enquiry into the wisdom of any one, whether citizen or stranger, who appears to be wise; and if he is not wise, then in vindication of the oracle I show him that he is not wise; and my occupation quite absorbs me, and I have no time to give either to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god.”

“I know that my plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?”

“The strong arm of that oppressive power did not frighten me into doing wrong.”

“For the fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretence of knowing the unknown; and no one knows whether death, which men in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.”

“This, O men of Athens, is the truth and the whole truth; I have concealed nothing, I have dissembled nothing.”

“I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.”

“So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is,—for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know.”

“I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish; and that others less esteemed were really wiser and better.”

“A man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong—acting the part of a good man or of a bad.”

“If a man were really able to instruct mankind, to receive money for giving instruction would, in my opinion, be an honour to him.”

“Then I knew that not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them.”

“I am certain, O men of Athens, that if I had engaged in politics, I should have perished long ago, and done no good either to you or to myself.”

“I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private.”

“As an adult, that just doesn’t happen. You move on with your feelings or you harbor resentment. We rarely really deal with issues in a rational way on the spot: “Hey, what you just did hurt my feelings. I want you to know.” It feels awkward. It is too hard. But when you do, the person apologizes. Or maybe he doesn’t, but at least it doesn’t fester in your head.”