Apology of Socrates and Crito

Benjamin Jowett’s early translation of Plato’s Apology is remarkably
free of Victorianisms, and brings to life the figure of Socrates with
an easy colloquialism. Almost the entire dialogue is actually a
monologue, battling the demons, real or imaginary, that had haunted
him for decades.
The record we have is Plato’s rendition of Socrates’ words and
the court proceedings. Our best assumption is that Plato himself was
there—he places himself as a mute audience member in the dialogue.
Are Plato’s words direct from Socrates’ mouth? Common Greek
practice by Herodotus, Thucydides and others, was to recreate scenes
or even entire speeches from the past as they might have happened;
today we would describe taking those liberties with history as
docudrama. The later dialogues that Plato wrote featuring Socrates
have led critics to wonder how much in these texts represent Plato, a
systematic philosophizer, and how much could be attributed to actual
statements made by Socrates, the perennial seeker. This record may
be the closest testimony that we have, as to the real Socrates, who is
here forced to reveal himself and his own ideas, rather than put others
on the defense by his questioning (although he needles Meletus here)
— a technique known today as the “Socratic method.”
This text continues Jowett’s usage of the “universal he,” on the
modern assumption that Plato actually intended philosophy and the
public sphere to apply to all people at all times.
The Crito, which follows the Apology, shows Socrates acting out of principle to submit willingly to the judgment of the state—another lesson in the ethical life.
The Supplement Edition of The Apology of Socrates and The Crito (www.createspace.com/3677227), besides the critical writings, glossary, and bibliography, also includes the text of Xenophon's version of the same trial.