Pericles Speech In The Apology

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The difference between the cripples’ speech in Lysias, Oration and the Socrates’ second speech in the Apology is what they are defending. In Oration, the cripple is defending his stipend. In Athens, Pericles provided a special assistance program for handicapped people (Kebric, p. 157). The cripple has been receiving assistance for majority of his life. He was accused by someone, who obviously taken a dislike to him, of accepting a stipend from the state when, it is charged, he is quite capable of earning a living on his own (Kebric, p. 157). The cripple had to defend his stipend in front of the Athenian Council to continue to receive it. During his defense, the cripple said, “As for my work, I have a skilled trade, but it is of little help, …show more content…
In Athens, the accusers asked for a certain penalty if the accused is convicted, and the accused argues for a different, usually less harmful penalty. For instance, if the accusers ask for the death penalty, it was customary for the accused to ask for banishment. The less harmful punishment tended to be chosen in just about every case. Socrates' second speech is an argument for a different penalty rather than death, but Socrates argues that he is doing a great service to the state of Athens, so that the appropriate penalty would be to pay him a stipend for the rest of his life to support him in his criticism of individual citizens of Athens. Socrates think that his penalty is wrong and that one day was not enough time to figure out a person’s death. He said, “I speak rather because I am convinced that I never intentionally wronged anyone, although I cannot convince you of that- for we have had a short conversation only; but if there were a law in Athens, such as there is in other cities, that a capital cause should not be decided in one day…(Apology, p. 37).” Socrates think that if he had money, he might have proposed to give them what they want (Apology, p. 38) In his final speech, Socrates tells the Athenians that they will be shamed in the future for their actions because if they killed him, it will not be

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