Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/255

 The Destruction of tJie Athenian Empire 205 stand about the market place, the street corners, and the public baths all day long, insisting on engaging in conversation every citizen he met, and asking a great many questions, which left the average citizen in a very con- fused state of mind. He seemed to call in question everything which the citizen had formerly regarded as settled. Yet this familiar and homely figure of the stone mason's son was the personification of the best and highest in Greek genius. Without desire for ofiice or a political career, Socrates' supreme interest nevertheless was the State. He believed that the State, made up as it was of citizens, could be purified and saved only by the im- provement of the individual citizen through the education of his mind to recognize virtue and right. Herein lies the supreme achieve- ment of Socrates as he daily con- fronted problems which the mind of man was clearly stating for the first time ; he planted his feet upon what he regarded as an im- movable rock of truth ; namely, that the human mind is able to Fig. (/). Portrait of Socrates recognize and determine what are This is not the best of the numerous surviving portraits of Socrates, but it is especially interesting because it bears under the philosopher's name nine inscribed lines contain- ing a portion of his public de- fense as reported by Plato in his Apology truth and virtue, beauty and honesty, and all the other great ideas which mean so much to human life. To him these ideas were real. He taught that by keen questioning and discussion it is possible to reject error and perceive these realities. Inspired by this impregnable belief,