Socrate Xenophon's Socrates: The Importance Of Education

In Plato’s texts education is seen as something of great importance. This is first seen in the introduction. It was thought that Plato believed “… only education in it (philosophy) could rescue humankind from civil war and political upheaval and provide a sound foundation for ethics and politics.” (1) This shows the sheer magnitude that education had to Plato. However, education was not as crucially important to the rest of the Greek society at this time. It was a luxury few could afford. Often Sophists would charge a great sum of money to attend lectures; this was a practice that Socrates was against. “And if you’ve heard from anyone that I undertake to educate people and charge fees, that’s not true either”(30) Socrates lived “in extreme poverty.”(35); however, he did not wish to charge people for education because it was something that he believed everyone should be able to receive if they were willing. …show more content…
“Xenophon’s Socrates is full of practical –and somewhat conservative- advice.”(177) Socrates is depicted in a way that suggests he almost welcomes death. Socrates suggests that he would rather die then feel the pains of old age. He fears that he’ll “…become slower to learn and quicker to forget what (he does) learn.”(179) Socrates shows his love for knowledge and education in his last minutes by talking about his quest for knowledge from a young age. “… As soon as (he) could understand speech, (he) began seeking out and learning whatever good things I could have and have never stopped doing so since…”(181) Socrates maintained his innocence to the grave proclaiming “And how on earth could I corrupt the young by training them in thrift and endurance.”(183) This demonstrates Socrates’ need for the truth. He could have easily lied and said that he believed he was guilty to get a lighter sentence. Nevertheless, he refused to compromise his integrity and the truth in order to