“A good man cannot be harmed in life or in death”, states Socrates after being sentenced to death by the Athenian jury. He was accused of corrupting the Athenian youths and creating new god. After being found guilty of the charges by the jury, Socrates responds with an argument of how the decision will not harm him. In this paper, we will discuss what a good man is, the reason behind Socrates statement and why I believe he is right.
In the course of human history, a few people have dedicated themselves in living a truthful, moral and just life. Mother Teresa, Martin Luther king junior and Mahatma Gandhi are among the few who struggled against the unbeatable will of the masses and the irresistible forces of politics to stop what they believed to be unfair. Martin Luther for example fought against racism and sort to teach mankind that the skin color does not mean a thing. His dedication was to see equality to all human despite the racial differences.
In ‘Apology’, Plato relates the life of an Athenian well known philosopher called Socrates. He was a rigorous thinker who taught philosophy and was accused of corrupting the youths and teaching about false gods (Plato, Grube & Cooper, 6). The practice of his beliefs bore him discrimination from government officials and the masses and eventually he was prosecuted and executed. In the trial, he said that a good man cannot be harmed in life or in death. This exemplifies his crucial belief that by living a good life, he will have satisfied the wish of his heart and conscience.
Socrates does not believe that Meletus and Anytus, who he considers not to be in accordance to themis - divine law- can hurt him. He says, ‘neither Meletus nor Anytus would harm me in any way. . . I do not think that it is themiton for a better man to be harmed by a worse’. He continues to argue that Meletus might kill or banish him a practice that many believe to be a great evil but he does not believe so (Plato, Grube & Cooper, 36). Socrates thinks that Meletus is doing himself more harm by unjustly trying to kill a man. Socrates thinks because it is not themiton for a better man to be harmed by a worse man, Meletus and Anytus cannot hurt him. Socrates believes that hurting a good man causes more harm o oneself because they will remain with the guilt and there is likelihood of facing the good man’s children. Life is good when lived justly than the kind of li8fe lived by Meletus where he accuse Socrates falsely and as a result he is sentenced to death.
Socrates tells the jury not to fear death but fear vice. He says that harm could come to him if he lives that when he is dead. Additionally, he says that he is not afraid to die because his dominion did not warn him when he came to the court. In his interpretation, he says that people fear death yet they do not know what death is (Plato, Grube & Cooper, 136). He says that no one knows whether death could be the greatest of all blessings for a man. He continues to argue that men fear death as if they knew it to be the greatest of evil.
Our body is where our souls dwell and they are fused together physically in order to keep us yearning to seek the ultimate truth and practice justice and fairness to all mankind (Plato, Grube & Cooper, 139). In accomplishing this mission of truth seeking, the actions of the wicked, who are against all positive actions to mankind, will not harm the just because even in death, the soul of the righteous or the good will be at peace for his actions.
Works Cited
Plato, G M. A. Grube, and John M. Cooper. The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Death Scene from Phaedo. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub, 2000. Print.
