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A review by wwatts1734
The Last Days of Socrates by Plato
5.0
This book is a collection of the four dialogues of Plato that take place in the last few days of the great philosopher, Socrates. The first dialogue is the Euthyphro, which deals with a conversation that Socrates had with the prosecutor Euthyphro about Euthyphro's plans to prosecute his own father for manslaughter for killing his servant. The second dialogue is the Apology, which is Socrates testimony at his own trial, in which Socrates was condemned to death for heresy and corrupting the morals of the youth of Athens. The third dialogue is the Crito, which was a conversation that Socrates had with his friend Crito, in which Crito tried to convince Socrates to allow his friends to bribe the jailer and allow Socrates to escape prior to his execution. The final dialogue, the Phaedo, was the last conversation that Socrates had with his friends prior to drinking the hemlock that took his life.
It is fascinating how many parallels the Socrates has to Jesus. For one thing, both men where unjustly condemned to death. For another thing, both men refused to avoid their own executions. Both men also preached about the importance of sacrificing everything for holiness and virtue. I am actually amazed at why I have not heard more sermons and homilies about these similarities.
But there are profound differences as well. For one thing, Socrates swore that he was not a wise man and did not deserve the accolades that he received from his fellow Athenians, whereas Jesus never claimed to be less than the Messiah. For another thing, Socrates had very strange ideas about reincarnation and the transmutation of souls, and he was not really sure about which gods were real and whether there was one or many gods, whereas Jesus was quite sure about these realities.
Reading these dialogues about Socrates' last days is very much like reading the thoughts of the early Fathers of the Christian Church, or even the Gospels, on the same subjects. It is wonderful to read a philosopher who feels that there are some things that are more important than being paid, being honored, or being recognized as the smartest guy on the block. Socrates held fast to the finer things in life, something that we Christians should likewise do, even Christian intellectuals. Perhaps Christian intellectuals can learn a thing or two from the four dialogues of the last days of Socrates.
It is fascinating how many parallels the Socrates has to Jesus. For one thing, both men where unjustly condemned to death. For another thing, both men refused to avoid their own executions. Both men also preached about the importance of sacrificing everything for holiness and virtue. I am actually amazed at why I have not heard more sermons and homilies about these similarities.
But there are profound differences as well. For one thing, Socrates swore that he was not a wise man and did not deserve the accolades that he received from his fellow Athenians, whereas Jesus never claimed to be less than the Messiah. For another thing, Socrates had very strange ideas about reincarnation and the transmutation of souls, and he was not really sure about which gods were real and whether there was one or many gods, whereas Jesus was quite sure about these realities.
Reading these dialogues about Socrates' last days is very much like reading the thoughts of the early Fathers of the Christian Church, or even the Gospels, on the same subjects. It is wonderful to read a philosopher who feels that there are some things that are more important than being paid, being honored, or being recognized as the smartest guy on the block. Socrates held fast to the finer things in life, something that we Christians should likewise do, even Christian intellectuals. Perhaps Christian intellectuals can learn a thing or two from the four dialogues of the last days of Socrates.