ENGL 298 B: Intermediate Writing Social Sciences   Autumn 2011, University of Washington

The first word that really stood out to me was disgrace. In the Apology, Socrates addresses the Jury and says, “there he must I think remain and face danger, without a thought for death or anything else, rather than disgrace.” (28e) This word is very important to the text because it is a depiction of Socrates entire argument made within the Crito.  He is a very virtuous person and to him, disgrace is far worse than death. Disgrace to Socrates means to defy his morals and his government. These are things he has spent a lifetime defining and respecting. If he were to disobey any of these values, he would consider himself a disgrace. Disgrace is something Socrates would never consider, it would be an insult to not only himself but more so to his followers and government.

As Socrates continues to speak to the jury in the Apology, he tells them that he is a gift from god. He claims to be a gift from god because it is duty to “[approach] each one of you like a father or elder brother to persuade you to care for virtue.” (31b) Socrates cares deeply about virtue. He has lived his life in poverty so he can serve his city as a teacher of living virtuously. So the importance of virtue to Socrates cannot be understated, he has devoted his entire life to living virtuously and persuading others to do so. According to Plato, virtue means to hold yourself to a high moral standard, to not harm others in return for harm done. If Socrates were to do things that were not virtuous, then his life would not be worth living.