Plato · Complete work
Stephanus 18a
Stephanus 18a of 125. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
ἔλεγον ἐν οἷσπερ ἐτεθράμμην, καὶ δὴ καὶ νῦν τοῦτο ὑμῶν δέομαι δίκαιον, ὥς γέ μοι δοκῶ, τὸν μὲν τρόπον τῆς λέξεως ἐᾶν—ἴσως μὲν γὰρ χείρων, ἴσως δὲ βελτίων ἂν εἴη—αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο σκοπεῖν καὶ τούτῳ τὸν νοῦν προσέχειν, εἰ δίκαια λέγω ἢ μή· δικαστοῦ μὲν γὰρ αὕτη ἀρετή, ῥήτορος δὲ τἀληθῆ λέγειν.πρῶτον μὲν οὖν δίκαιός εἰμι ἀπολογήσασθαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πρὸς τὰ πρῶτά μου ψευδῆ κατηγορημένα καὶ τοὺς πρώτους κατηγόρους, ἔπειτα δὲ πρὸς τὰ ὕστερον καὶ τοὺς
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete Ancient Greek text across all 125 Stephanus sections for fidelity, philosophical precision, Socratic voice, legal clarity, and structure.
in which I had been brought up. And so now I ask of you what I believe to be just: disregard my manner of speaking—it may be worse, or it may be better—and consider this alone, fixing your attention upon it: whether what I say is just or not. For that is the virtue of a judge, while the virtue of an orator is to speak the truth.First, then, men of Athens, I am entitled to defend myself against the earliest false accusations brought against me and my earliest accusers, and afterward against the later accusations and the later
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 125 Ancient Greek Stephanus sections.
in which I had been raised. So now as well, I ask of you what I think is a fair request: disregard my manner of speaking—whether it happens to be worse or better—and consider and pay attention only to this: whether what I say is just or not. For the excellence of a judge is to judge justly, and that of a speaker is to tell the truth.First, then, men of Athens, it is right for me to defend myself against the first false accusations brought against me and my first accusers, and then against the later accusations and the