Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/435

 CHARACTER OF HIS MISSION. 413 Sokiates repeated the same experiment successively upon a great number of different persons, especially those in reputation for distinguished abilities ; first, upon political men and rhetors, next upon poets of every variety, and upon artists as well as artisans. The result of his trial was substantially the same in all cases. The poets, indeed, composed splendid verses, but when questioned even about the words, the topics, and the purpose, of their own compositions, they could give no consistent or satisfactory explanations ; so that it became evident that they spoke or wrote, like prophets, as unconscious subjects under the promptings of inspiration. Moreover, their success as poets filled them with a lofty opinion of their own wisdom on other points also. The case was similar with artists and artisans ; who, while highly instructed, and giving satisfactory answers, each in his own particular employment, were for that reason only the more convinced that they also knew well other great and noble subjects. This great general mistake more than countervailed their special capacities, and left them, on the whole, less wise than Sokrates. 1 " In this research and scrutiny (said Sokrates, on his defence) I have been long engaged, and am still engaged. I interrogate every man of reputation ; I prove him to be defective in wisdom ,- but I cannot prove it so as to make him sensible of the defect. Fulfilling the mission imposed upon me, I have thus established the veracity of the god, who meant to pronounce that human wisdom was of little reach or worth ; and that he who, like Sokrates, felt most convinced of his own worthlessness, as to wisdom, was really the wisest of men. 2 My service to the god has not only constrained me to live in constant poverty 3 and neglect of political estimation, but has brought upon me a host 1 Plato, Ap. Sok. c. 7, 8, p. 22. 1 Plato, Ap. Sok. c. 9, p. 23. I give here the sense rather than the exact words : Ovrof vjiuv oo^urarof ia-iv, oorif daitfp SuKpurtjf tyvuKev on oi'Jfu^c uS ioc tori TJJ u/^deiq. Trpdf aoQiav. Taur* t)u JJ.I-J cTi Kal viiv irepiiuv rjriJ KOI tpcvvti KUTU riv &edv, cc2 ruv UOTO-V nal rCiv i-evuv uv nva oi-jpai aoQbv dvaf Kal ixcitiuv ftot p.T) doxy, ; y &e 8 o *)&> v tvtieinvvfjat or OVK eari ooQoc. tv irevip uvpia dpi, dta li/v TOV QEOV kurpeiav.
 * Plato, Ap. Sok. c. 9, p. 23, A-C.