Comparing Plato's Apology And Crito

To Late to Apologize
In Apology and Crito, Plato portrays Socrates as a man who cared deeply for his city, and never compromised his integrity not even in the face of death. Socrates is a hero who believed that philosophy upheld the integrity of the city, and used it to fight the growing greed, ignorance, and corruption he saw in Athens.
Socrates noticed the growing focus on wealth in Athens. He saw that people were eager “ to possess as much wealth …as possible, while you do not care for nor give thought to wisdom or truth” (32) In Apology, He states “ Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men.” showing his belief that money was worth less than excellence. He fought against this greed by persuading all he met to care less for wealth and more for personal excellence. Not only did he teach this doctrine, he also lived it, refusing to charge for his services, rather performing them to better the city. At the end of his trial, Socrates asked the jury to keep his sons from valuing money above virtue, because he wanted to ensure that the future generations of Athens avoided falling prey to the same mistakes he saw the current generation making. In addition to greed, he attempted to combat ignorance in the city. When talking to the poets he realized that, although they were good writers, they were ignorant of what their writings actually meant. He …show more content…
He never stopped in his quest to save Athens from the threats of greed, ignorance, and corruption, eventually giving his life for the city he