He was a poor man, ugly, and without
eloquence. He opened no school like the sophists but contented himself
with going about the city, conversing with those he met, and leading
them by the force of his questions to discover what he himself had in
mind. He sought especially the young men and gave them instruction and
counsel. Socrates made no pretensions as a scholar: "All my
knowledge," said he, "is to know that I know nothing." He would call
himself no longer a sage, like the others, but a philosopher, that is
to say, a lover of wisdom. He did not meditate on the nature of the
world nor on the sciences; man was his only interest. His motto was,
"Know thyself." He was before all a preacher of virtue.
As he always spoke of morals and religion, the Athenians took him for
a sophist.[82] In 399 he was brought before the court, accused "of not
worshipping the gods of the city, of introducing new gods, and of
corrupting the youth." He made no attempt to defend himself, and was
condemned to death. He was then seventy years old.
Xenophon, one of his disciples, wrote out his conversations and an
apology for him.
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