be, not only a Credit to her Sex, but an Honour to her Coun-
try. " The moft ignorant Perfons, fays Mrs. CARTER, In
one of her Notes on EPICTETUS, often practice what they
know to be Evil : And they who voluntarily fuffer, as many
do, their Inclinations to blind their Judgment, are not jufti-
fied by following it. The Doctrine of EPICTETUS there-
fore, here, and elfewhere, on this Head, contradicts theVoice
of Reafon and Confcience : Nor is it lefs pernicious than ill-
grounded. It deftroys all Gujlt and Merit 5 all Punifhment
and Reward ; all Blame of ourfelves or others; all Senfe of
Mifbehaviour towards our Fellow-creatures, or our Creator:
No Wonder that fuch Philofophers did not teach Repentance
towards GOD."" P, 62.
318 MEMOIRS of (B.
" ONE can fuppofe no other."
" AND he who lives as he ought to live,
treats Mankind properly ? "
HE does."
" AND they who treat Mankind property,
execute properly all human Affairs ? "
CC
ONE Ihould fuppofe fo.'
" (s) BUT do you believe, EUTHYDEMUS,
there are any who obey the Laws, without
knowing what the Laws enjoin ? "
" I DO not believe there are any."
cc BUT when a Man knows what he ought
to do, will he think he ought to aft other-
wife ? "
" I DO not imagine he will."
" THEN fuch Men as know the Laws to be
obferved by Mankind in their Dealings with
each other will obferve them ? "
" THEY
(g) As the Greek Tort, in this Part, is fomewlnt car,-
fufed, theTranflatioh follows Mr. C
IV.) SOCRATES. 319
" THEY will."
" AND thofe who obferve to do what the
Laws command, do that which is juft ? "
" THEY do," replied EUTHYDEMUS.
" BUT thofe who a6t juftly, are juft ? '*
" THERE are no other, faid EUTHYDEMUS,
who can be fo."
" MAY we not be faid then to make a right
Definition, when we call them juft, who know
the Laws which Mankind ought to obferve, in
their Commerce with one another ? "
" IT feems fo to me," faid EUTHYDEMUS.
" AND what fhall we fay of Wifdom, EU-
THYDEMUS ? Is it in Regard to Things they
know, or do not know that Men are wife ? "
" CERTAINLY, on the Account of what
they do tow, faid EUTHYDEMUS; for how can
any one be wife^ as to Things which he under-
ftands not ? " .
" THEN it is on Account of their Know-
kge that Men are wife ? "
" MOST
320 MEMOIRS of (B.
" MOST certainly."
cc BUT Wifdom is nothing elfe but the being
wife."
" IT is not."
" CONSEQUENTLY, faid SOCRATES, Know-
hge is Wifdom."
" I grant it, faid EUTHYDEMUS."
* c BUT do you think, continued SOCRATES,
that any one Man is capable of knowing all
Things ? "
No ; nor the thoufandth Part," returned
EUTHYDEMUS.
" THEN it is impoffible for him to be wife
in all Things ? "
" IT is."
cc IT mu ft follow then, that no one is wife,
but in fuch Things as he knoweth ? "
44 CERTAINLY."
" BUT can we, EUTHYDEMUS, difcover the
Nature of Good ; by this, our prefent Method
of trying and comparing Things ? "
IV.) SOCRATES. 321
' * WHAT do you mean ?" faid EUTHYDEMUS*.
" Is one and the fame Thing ufeful for all
Men ; and to every Purpofe ? "
" No, certainly."
" IT may then be ufeful to one Man, and
hurtful to another ? "
" IT may afluredly."
" THEN, to constitute any Thing good, it
muft be found ufeful ?"
" IT muft."
" CONSEQUENTLY, replied SOCRATES, that
which is ufeful, is good for him to whom it is
ufeful ? "
" I OWN it."
" AND beautiful, EUTHYDEMUS; may
we not determine the fame concerning this ?
for we cannot fay of a Body or Veffel, of what
Kind foever, that it is beautiful with Regard
to every Purpofe."
t( cannot,"
R r "PERHAPS
322 MEMOIRS of /B.
" PERHAPS you would fay then, continued
SOCRATES, that it is beautiful with Refpedt to
that particular Thing for which it is proper? "
" I WOULD."
" BUT that which is beautiful on the Ac-
count of its being well fuited to one Thing ;
js it alfo beautiful with Refpecl: to every
other?"
" NOT at all"
" THEN, whatever is well-fuited, is beauti-
ful, with regard to that Thing to which it
is wcll-fuited ?"
" IT is fo," faid EUTHYDEMUS.
" ALSO, Courage, EUTHYDEMUS ; do you
look upon Courage as any Thing excellent ?"
" MOST excellent," anfwered EUTHYDEMUS.
" Is it of much Ufe on Occafions of little
Moment ?"
" THE Advantage of it, faid EUTHYDE-
MUS, is chiefly in Things of Importance."
Is
IV.) SOCRATES. 323
" Is it of Service to us, faid SOCRATES, not
to fee our Danger ?"
" I THINK not."
" BUT not to be frighted, when we fee no
Danger, is fcarcely being valiant ? "
" IT is not, faid EUTHYDEMUS, for, other-
*wife, there are Madmen, and even Cowards,
who might be called Brave."
" AND what are they, continued SOCRATES,
who fear, where there is nothing to be feared?"
" THESE, I Ihould think at a greater Dif-
tance from Courage, than the other."
" THEY, therefore, who mew themfelves
brave, when fenfible of their Danger, are va-
liant ; thofe who act otherwife, cowardly ? "
" IT is true."
f
" BUT do you think, EUTHYDEMUS, any
one can behave as he ought, if he knows- not
in what Manner he ought to behave ? "
I SHOULD imagine not.
R r 2
324 MEMOIRS of (B.
^ AND, are not they, who behave ill, and
they who know not how to behave, the fame
People ?"
" I BELIEVE they are."
" DOTH not every Man behave as he thinks
he ought to behave ?"
cc CERTAINLY."
cc
CAN we fay, then, that he who behaves
ill, knows in what Manner he ought to be-*
have ?"
"W* cannot."
" BUT he who knows how to behave as he
ought, doth behave as he ought ?*'
" HE is the only Man, faid EUTHYDEMUS,
who can do it."
" WE will conclude then, our Difcourie,
my EUTHYDEMUS, with faying, That he, who
knows how to behave, properly, in all Cafes of
Difficulty and Danger, is brave : He who
know s it not, a Coward."
" I agree with you entirely," replied EU-
THYDEMUS. SOT
IV.) SOCRATES. 325
SOCRATES ufcd to fay, " That a regal Go-
vernment, and a Tyranny, were each of them
of that Species of Dominion, which is called
monarchical *, but differed in this Particular ;
That the Submiflion of Men, under a regal
Government, was altogether voluntary, and
nothing could be done in it, which was not
agreeable to the Laws : Whereas, under a
Tyranny, the People were compelled to obey ;
the Will of the Prince being the fole Standard
of the Laws. As to the other Forms of Go-
vernment, he would fay, <c That, when the
chief Offices of the Commonwealth were
lodged in the Hands of a fmall Number of
the moll eminent Citizens, it was called an
Ariftocracy ; when with the Richeft, elected
on Account of their Riches, a Plutocracy; r
and when the whole People were admitted in-
differently into Power, this, he faid, was a
Democracy."
Now, when any one fhewed himfelf of a
different Opinion to SOCRATES, without pro-
ducing a fufficient Reafon for his diilenting-,
rr-as when, fqr Example, on his commend-
ing any one, the Preference was given to
fame
326 MEMOIRS of (B.
fome other, as more valiant, or better (killed
in the Affairs of the Adminiftration ; his
Cuftom was, to carry back the Argument to
the very firft Propofition ; and, from thence,
fet out in the Search of Truth ; faying to
them, cc Youaffert then, that theMan, whom
you fpeak well of, is a far better Citizen than
he whom I recommend ?" And, being an-
fwered, " It was true :" " We may not do
amifs then, faid SOCRATES, to examine firft
of all, what the Office of a good Citizen
is, and what the Man mould be, who gains
to himfelf the Efteem of the Republic."
" IT is right," anfwered the other.
" IF the Affair then relates to the Manage-
ment of the Treafury, I fuppofe, it mufl be
one, who, during his Adminiftration, is the
moft careful of the Public Money? If, to
War^ then, he who renders his Country vic-
torious over its Enemies, will be held in the
higheft Eftimation ? "
" UNDOUBTEDLY."
u WHEN Treaties are forming, Ihould not
he, who, by his Addrefs, gains over to the In-
to reft
IV.) SOCRATES. 327
tereft of the Republic, thofe who before were
its Enemies, be the moft fure of our Appro-
bation ? "
HE fhould."
" AND, with Regard to the Bufmefs car-
ried on in our Public AfTemblies ; to calm
Sedition ; break Cabals > and reftore Con-
cord and Unanimity, mould beft mew the
good Citizen ? "
THIS likewife being granted and Applica-
tion made of thefe feveral Particulars to the
Point in Queftion ; the Truth fhone forth to
the Acknowlegment of all ; even, of the very-
Man, who, before had oppofed him. And it
was ever his Manner, when he intended to
examine any Thing thoroughly, to begin
with fuch Proportions as were felf-evi-
dent, and univerfally received , and faid, that
herein confided the whole Strength of Reafon-
ing. Nor have I ever yet known any Man
who could fo readily bring others to admit the
Truth of what he wiihed to prove, as
SOCRATES : And he thought HOMER only
gaye ULYSSES the Appellation of the irrejtftabk
Ora-
328 MEMOIRS of (B.
Oratour, bccaufe he would lead his Argument,
Step by Step, through fuch Paths, as lay ob-
vious to the Eyes of all Mankind."
THUS have I, as it feemeth to me, made
it fufficiently appear, with what Sincerity and
Opennefs, SOCRATES converfed with his Fol-
lowers, and (hewed them his Sentiments on
every Occafion.
CHAP. VII.
NEITHER muft I omit to mention, how
folicitous SOCRATES always fhewed
himfelf to have his Friends become capable
of performing their own Bufmefs ; that they
might not ftand in need of others to per-
form it for them. For this Reafon, he made
it his Study, more than any Man I ever
knew, to find out wherein any of his Fol-
lowers were likely to excel in Things not
unbecoming a wife and good Man : And in
fuch Points as he himfelf could give them
any Jnflruction, he did it , with the utmofl
React
IV.) SOCRATES. 329
Readinefs j and where he could not, was al-
ways forward to carry them to fome more
fkilful Matter. Yet was he very careful to
fix the Bounds in every Science, beyond
which, he would fay, no Perfon, properly
inftructed, ought to pafs. And, therefore,
in Geometry, for Example, he thought it
fufficient if fo much of it was known, as would
fecure a Man from being impofed upon in the
buying and felling of Land; direct him in
the properDiftributions of the feveral Portions
of an Inheritance, and in meafuring out the
Labourer's Work : All which, he faid, was
fo eafy to be done, that he who applied him-
felf to this Science, though almoft ever fo
flightly, might foon find out in what Manner
to meafure the whole Earth, and defcribe its
Circumference. But to dive deep into fuch
Things; and perplex the Mind with various,
uncouth Figures , and hard to be underftood ;
although he himfelf had much Knowlegc
therein, he approved not of it, as feeing no
Ufe in thefe nice Enquiries ; which confume
all his Time, and engrofs the whole Man ;
taking off his Thoughts from more profitable
Studies. He alfo advifed his Friends to gain
S s fuch
jjo MEMOIRS of (B.
fuch a Knowlege of Aftronomy as to be able
to tell by the Stars the Hours of ihe Night v
the Day of the Month \ and the Seafons of
the Year ; that they fhould not be at a Lofs
when to relieve theCentinel; begin a Journey
or a Voyage ; or do any other Thing which
depends on this Science : All which, he faid,
was eafily to be learnt by converting with Sea-
faring Men, or thofe whofe Cuilom it was to
hunt in the Night : But, to go farther in or-
der to ilnd out what Planets were in the fame
Declenfion ;- explain their different Motions ^
tell their Diftances from the Earth j their
Influences -, together with the Time necef-
fary for the Performance of their refpective
Revolutions: c Tbefe\ and Things like thefe^
he ftrongly diiPaaded his Followers from at-
tempting : Not as being ignorant of them him-
felf; but he judged of this Science, as he did
of the former, That to examine deeply into
the Nature of fuch Things, would rob us of
all our Time -, divert our Thoughts from ufe-
ful Studies ; and after all produce nothing
that could turn to our Advantage. In fhort
he would not that Men (hould too curioufly
Search into that marvellous Art, where- with
the
IV.) SOCRATES. 331
the Maker of the Univerfe had difpofed the fe-
veral Parts of it ; feeing it was a Subject in-
comprehenfible to the Mind of Man ; neither
yet pleating to the Gods to attempt to difcover
the Things which they, in their Wifdom, had
thought fit to conceal. He alfo faid, " that
the Underflanding, unable to bear thefe tow-
ering Speculations, oft-times loll itfelf in the
Enquiry ; as was the Cafe with AN AXAGORUS,
who gloried not a little in the Extent of his
Knowlege : Yet this very Man aflerted, " that
the Sun was the fame as Fire j" forgetful that
the Eye can bear the Light of the Fire - 9
whereas the Luftre of the Sun is too dazzling
for it to behold. Neither did he confider that
the Rays of the Sun change the Skin, black ;
which the Fire doth not : As alfo, that its
Warmth produces, and brings to Perfection,
Trees, and Flowers, and Fruits of the Earth ;
while it is the Property of the Fire to wither,
and confume them. He faid, moreover, " that
the Sun was no other than a Stone thoroughly
inflamed-," not perceiving, added SOCRATES,
that the Stone fhineth not in the Fire -, nei-
ther can remain there any long Time, without
waiting ; whereas, the Sun abideth flill the
S s 2 fame*
332 MEMOIRS of (B.
fame; an inexhauftible Source of Light, and
Warmth to us.
SOCRATES alfo recommended the Study of
Arithmetic to his Friends ; and afllfted them,
as was his Cuftom, in tracing out the feveral
Parts of it, as far as might be ufeful : But
here, as elfewhere, fixed Bounds to their En-
quiries , never fuffering them to run out into
vain and trifling Difquifitions which could be
of no Advantage, either to themfelves, or
others.
HE always earneftly exhorted his Friends to
be careful of their Health : And to this End,
not only advifed them to confult thofe who
were fkilful therein , but of themfelves to be
continually attentive to their Diet and Exer-
cife \ always preferring what would keep them
in the bed Health, fince they who did this
would feldom, he faid, want a better Phyfician.
And when he found any who could not
fatisfy therqfelves with the Knowlege that lay
within the Reach of human Wifdom , SOCRA-
TES advifed that they ihould diligently apply
to the Study of Divination : Aflerting, that
who-
IV.) SOCRATES. 333
whoever was acquainted with thofe Mediums
which the Gods made Ufe of when they com-
municated any Thing to Man, Jhould never
be left deftitute of divine Counfel.
xxxxxxxxxxxtxxxxxxxxxxx
CHAP. VIII.
AND now, if any one fhould be inclined
to conclude, that SOCRATES afTerted a
Falfhood, when he declared himfelf under the
Guidance of a good Genius, feeing he afted,
in fuch a Manner, as to incur the Sentence of
Death ; let fuch a one, I fay, confider that
he was now already fo far advanced in Age,
that, if he died not then, he muft die foon af-
ter; and that he only relinquifhed that Part of
Life, which is held the moft painful; and
when the Faculties of the Mind are greatly
impaired : Whereas, he now manifeiled. to all
the World the Strength andVigour of his Soul ;
and gained to himfelf immortal Honour, by
the Manner in which he fpake while before his
Judges. And, indeed, no Man was ever
known
334 MEMOIRS of (B.
known to plead his own Caufe, with that Plain-
nefs, Firmnefs, and fleady Regard to Truth ;
at the fame Time, that he received his Con-
demnation, with that Meeknefs and Magnani-
mity, as altogether furpafled the Example of
former Ages , it being, on all Hands, univer-
fally acknowleged, that no Man ever met
Death in like Manner as SOCRATES.
AFTER his Sentence, he was obliged to live
thirty Days in Prifon , the Laws forbidding
any one to be put to Death until the Return
of the facred Vefiel : ( b ) During which Time
his Friends converged with him daily, and faw
no Change in his Behaviour, for he ftill retained
that Tranquility of Mind and pleafing Turn
of Humour, which had made him fojuftly ad-
mired by all Mankind. Now, who could give
greater Proofs of Fortitude? Either, what
Death could be attended with more Honour ?
But, the Death which is the mod honoura-
ble, is, likewife, the mod happy j and that
which
(b) The Ship which was fent every Year from Athens
to Deles, in Memory of the Viftory obtained by THESEAUS
over the Minotaus; when it was forbidden by the Laws, to
put any Mm to Death during the Time of its being abfent.
IV.) SOCRATES. 335
which is the molt happy, is beft pleafmg to the
Gods.
I SHALL farther relate, what I heard from
HERMOGENES, the Son of HIPPONIUS, con-
cerning SOCRATES. This Man being along
with him, after the Time that MELITUS had
accufed him ; and obfervmg that he rather
chofe to difcourfe on any other Subject, than
the Bufinefs of the Trial , afked, " Whether
it was not neceffary to be preparing for his Juf-
tification ? " " And what, anfwered SOCRA-
TES, fuppofe you, my HERMOGENES! that I
have not, throughout Life, been preparing
for this very Thing?" HERMOGENES then
defiring him to explain his Meaning , I have,
(aid he, made it the Bulinefs of my whole
Life, to examine what Things were juft, or un-
juft ; and have as Iteadily perfifted in practif-
ing the one, and refraining from the other;
and, this I take to be the beft Way of prepar-
ing for my Trial." " But know you not, re-
plied HERMOGENES, that here, in Athens, the
Judges oft-times condemn thofe to Death,
who have no Way deferred it, only becaufe
their Manner of Speaking was difpleafing;
while,
336 MEMOIRS of (B.
while, on the other Hand, they not lefs fre-
quently acquit the Guilty ? "
" I DO know it, anfwered SOCRATES; and,
be allured, my HERMOGENES, that I did not
neglect to take the Matter of my Defence un-
der Confideration , but the Genius oppofed
me."
HERMOGENES replying, that he talked mar-
velloufly, " But why, faid he, fhould it be
marvellous, that GOD mould think Ms the
very beft Time for me to die ? Know you
not, that hitherto I have granted to no Man,
that he hath lived either better, or even more
pleafureably than I ; if, as I think it is, to
be alone folicitous after the Attainment of
Virtue be LIVING WELL ; and the Confciouf-
nefs of making fbme Proficiency therein, PLEA-
SANT : And, that I did make fome Proficien-
cy therein I well perceived, by comparing my-
felf with others, and from the Teftimony of
my own Conicience \ my Friends alib faying
the fame concerning me : Not for that they
loved me : Since, if fo, every Friend would
think the fame of him whom he was a Friend
IV.) SOCRATES. 337
to ; but becaufe, as it feemed to them, they
themfelves became better Men, from having
much converted with me. But, if my Life
Ihould be ftill prolonged, it can hardly be but
the Infirmities of old Age will likewife come
upon me : My Sight will fail ; my Hearing
grow heavy; and my Underftanding much
impaired ; fo that I fhall find it more difficult
to learn, as lefs eafy to retain what I have
learnt already : Deprived too of the Power of
performing many of thofe Things, which,
heretofore, I have excelled in. And if, after
all, I fliould become infenfible to thefe Decays ;
ftill, Life would not be Life r but a wearifome
Burthen: And, if otherwife; if I, indeed, find,
and feel them, how unpleafant, how afflicting,
muft a State like this, prove ! If I die, wrong-
fully, the Shame muft be theirs, who put me
wrongfully to Death : Since, if Injuftice is
lhameful ; fo, likewife, every Act of it ; but
no Difgrace will it bring on me, that others
have not feen that I was innocent. TheExam-
pies drawn from former Ages fufficiently fhew
ys, that thofe who commit wrong, and they
whofufferity ftand not alike, in the Remem-
brance of Men : And, I am perfuaded, that
T t if
338 MEMOIRS of (B.
if I now die, I (hall be held in far higher fti-
mation by thofe who come after me, than any
of my Judges , fmce Pofterity will not fail to
teftify concerning me, that I neither wronged - 9
nor yet, by my Difcouffes, corrupted any
Man; but, contrary-wife, drove throughout
Life, to the ucmoft of my Power, to make
all thofe, who converfed with me, HAPPY.
IN this Manner did SOCRATES continue to
difcourfe with HERMOGENES, and others:
Nor are there any among thofe who knew him,
if Lovers of Virtue,who do not daily regret the
Lofs of his Converfation > convinced how
much they might have been advantaged
thereby.
As tomyfelf; -knowing him, of a Truth,
to be fuch a Man as I have defcribed ; fo pi-
ous towards the Gods, as never to undertake
any Thing without having firft confulted
them : So juft towards Men, as never to do
an Injury, even the very flighteft, to any one -,
whilft many, and great, were the Benefits he
conferred on all with whom he had any Deal-
ings :- So temperate, and chafte, as not to in-
dulge any Appetite, or Inclination, at the Ex-
pence
IV.) SOCRATES. 339
pence of whatever was modeft or becoming :
So prudent, as never to err in judging of Good
and Evil ; nor wanting the Afliftance of others*
to difcriminate rightly concerning them :
So able to difcourfe upon, and define with the
greateft Accuracy, not only thofe Points of
which we have been fpeaking, but likewife
of every other , and looking, as it were, into
the Minds of Men, difcover the very Mo-
ment for reprehending Vice, or ftimulating to
the Love of Virtue : -^-Experiencing, as I have
done, all thefe Excellencies in SOCRATES; I
can never ceafe confidering him as the moft vir-
tuous, and the moil happy of all Mankind.
But, if there is any one who is difpofed to think
otherwife, Let him go, and compare SOCRATES
with any other; and, afterwards, let him
determine.
FINIS.
( I )
THE
Defence of Socrates^
Before his JUDGES.
By XENOPHON.
HAVE always confidered the Manner,
A g J
$ I & in which SOCRATES behaved after he
O i*
$&$$ had been fummoned to his Trial, as
moil worthy of our Remembrance-, and that,
not only with Refpect to the Defence he made
for himfelf, when (landing before his Judges ;
but the Sentiments he exprefs'd, concerning
his Diflblution. For, although there be many
who have written on this Subject, and all con-
cur in fetting forth the wonderful Courage
and Intrepidity where-with he fpake to the Af-
femblyi fo that it remaineth inconteftible, that
SOCRATES did thus fpeak ; yet, that it was
A his
( *.-)
his full Perfuafion, that Death was more eligi-
ble for him, than Life, at fuch a Seafon, they
have by no Means fo clearly manifefted -,
whereby the Loftinefs of his Stile, and the
Boldnefs of his Speech, may wear, at leaft, the
Appearance, of being imprudent, and unbe-
coming.
BUT HERMOGENES, the Son of HIPPONIUS,
was his intimate Friend-, and from him it is
we have heard thofe Things of SOCRATES, as
iufficiently prove the Sublimity of his Lan-
guage, was only conformable to the Senti-
ments of his Mind- For, having obferved
him, as he tells us, chufing rather to difcourfe
on any other Subject than the Bufinefs of his
Trial j he afked him" If it was not neceflary
to be preparing for his Defence ? " And
" What! faid he, my HERMOGENES fuppofe
you I have not fpent my whole Life in prepar-
ing for this very Thing ? "HERMOGENES
deliring he would explain himfelf : " I have,
faid he, fteadily perfifted throughout Life, in
-a diligent Endeavour to do nothing which is
unjuft; and this I take to be the beft, and moft
honourable Preparation,"
" BUT
- - ( 3 )
" BUT fee you not, faidHERMOGENES, that
oft-times here in Athens, the Judges, influ-
enced by the Force of Oratory, condemn thofe
to Death who no Way defer ve it ; and, not
lefs frequently, acquit the Guilty, when foften'd
into Compafiion by the moving Complaints,
or the infinuating Eloquence of thofe who
plead their Caufe before them ? "
c< I KNOW it, replied SOCRATES; and, there-
fore, twice have I attempted to take the Mat-
ter of my Defence under Confideration : But
THE GENIUS ( a ) always oppofed me."
HER-
(a) Various have been theOpinions concerning this Genius,
or Demon of SOCRATES ; and too many for theTranflator to
enumerate. What feems the moft probable and fatisfactory is.
That the Genius of SOCRATES, fo differently fpoken-of, was
nothing more than an uncommon Strength of Judgment, and
Juftncfs of Thinking j which meafuring Events by the Rules
of Prudence, afiifted by long Experience, and much Obfcr-
vaticm : Unclouded, and unbiaifed by any Prejudices, or
Paffions, rendered SOCRATES capable of looking, as it were,