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was said, but it was truly child's play and nonsense. 13.6.4 But I desire, Crito, to examine it with you, to see if it seems any different to me, now that I am in this situation, or the same, and whether we shall dismiss it or be persuaded by it. And it was said, I think, on each occasion by those who thought they were saying something, just as I was saying now, that of the opinions that men hold, one should 13.6.5 value some highly, and not others. By the gods, Crito, does this not seem well said to you? For you, at least as far as human matters go, are not about to die tomorrow, and the present misfortune would not mislead you. Consider, then: does it not seem to you to be adequately said that one should not honor all the opinions of men, but some and not others? Nor the opinions of all men, but of some and not of others? What do you say? Is this not well said? Well. 13.6.6 Therefore, one should honor the good ones, but not the bad ones? Yes. And are not the good ones those of the wise, and the bad ones those of the foolish? How could they not be? Come now, how were such things said? Does a man who is exercising and practicing this pay attention to the praise and blame and opinion of every man, or only of that one man who happens to be a physician or a trainer? Of one only. 13.6.7 Therefore, he should fear the blame and welcome the praise of that one man, and not that of the many. Obviously. Therefore, he must act and exercise and eat and drink in the way that seems right to the one who is in charge and understands, rather than to all the others. That is so. Well then. If he disobeys the one and dishonors his opinion and his praise, but honors that of the many who understand nothing, will he not suffer some harm? How could he not? And what is this harm? And where does it tend and to what part of the one who disobeys? Clearly, to the body, which it ruins. 13.6.8 You speak well. And so it is with other things, Crito, so that we need not go through them all. And indeed concerning just and unjust things, and shameful and beautiful things, and good and bad things, about which our present deliberation is, should we follow the opinion of the many and fear it, or that of the one, if there is anyone who understands, whom we ought to respect and fear more than all the others? If we do not follow him, we shall corrupt and maim that which is improved by justice and destroyed by injustice. Or is this nothing? I think so, Socrates. 13.6.9 Come now, if we ruin that which is improved by what is healthy and corrupted by what is diseased, by not obeying the opinion of those who understand, is life worth living for us when that is corrupted? And that is the body, is it not? Yes. Is life, then, worth living for us with a wretched and corrupted body? By no means. 13.6.10 But is life worth living for us with that corrupted which injustice maims and justice benefits? Or do we consider that thing, whatever it is of ours, with which injustice and justice are concerned, to be inferior to the body? By no means. But more honorable? Much more. 13.6.11 Therefore, my excellent friend, we should not at all be concerned about what the many will say about us, but what the one who understands about just and unjust things will say, and truth itself. So that, in the first place, you are not advising correctly in this, when you advise that we should be concerned with the opinion of the many about what is just and beautiful and good and their opposites.” 13.6.12 And the saving word also says: “You seek the glory that comes from men and you do not seek the glory that comes from the one alone.” Therefore, we too act rightly in the struggles for piety, not considering what the many will say of us, but what the one Word of God wills, whom, having once chosen by judgment, it is fitting to honor then just as before, and not to change, not even “if the power of the many were to frighten us like children with bogies.” Such also were those of old among the Hebrews who shone brightly in martyrdom.

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ἐλέγετο, ἦν δὲ παιδιὰ καὶ φλυαρία ὡς ἀληθῶς. 13.6.4 ἐπιθυμῶ δ' ἔγωγε ἐπισκέψασθαι, ὦ Κρίτων, κοινῇ μετὰ σοῦ, εἴ τί μοι ἀλλοιότερος φανεῖται, ἐπειδὴ ὧδ' ἔχω, ἢ ὁ αὐτός, καὶ ἐάσομεν χαίρειν ἢ πεισόμεθα αὐτῷ. ἐλέγετο δέ, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, ἑκάστοτε ὧδε ὑπὸ τῶν οἰομένων τι λέγειν ὥσπερ νῦν δὴ ἐγὼ ἔλεγον, ὅτι τῶν δοξῶν ἃς οἱ ἄνθρωποι δοξάζουσι δέοι τὰς 13.6.5 μὲν περὶ πολλοῦ ποιεῖσθαι, τὰς δὲ μή. τοῦτο πρὸς θεῶν, ὦ Κρίτων, οὐ δοκεῖ καλῶς σοι λέγεσθαι; σὺ γάρ, ὅσα γε τἀνθρώπεια, ἐκτὸς εἶ τοῦ μέλλειν ἀποθνήσκειν αὔριον, καὶ οὐκ ἄν σε παρακρούοι ἡ παροῦσα συμφορά. σκόπει δή· οὐχ ἱκανῶς δοκεῖ σοι λέγεσθαι ὅτι οὐ πάσας χρὴ τὰς δόξας τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τιμᾶν, ἀλλὰ τὰς μέν, τὰς δ' οὔ; οὐδὲ πάντων, ἀλλὰ τῶν μέν, τῶν δ' οὔ; τί φῄς; ταῦτα οὐχὶ καλῶς λέγεται; Καλῶς. 13.6.6 Οὐκοῦν τὰς μὲν χρηστὰς τιμᾶν, τὰς δὲ πονηρὰς μή; Ναί. Χρησταὶ δὲ οὐχ αἱ τῶν φρονίμων, πονηραὶ δὲ αἱ τῶν ἀφρόνων; Πῶς δ' οὔ; Φέρε δή, πῶς αὖ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐλέγετο; γυμναζόμενος ἀνὴρ καὶ τοῦτο πράττων πότερον παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐπαίνῳ καὶ ψόγῳ καὶ δόξῃ τὸν νοῦν προσέχει, ἢ ἑνὸς μόνου ἐκείνου ὃς ἂν τυγχάνῃ ἰατρὸς ἢ παιδοτρίβης ὤν; Ἑνὸς μόνου. 13.6.7 Οὐκοῦν φοβεῖσθαι χρὴ τοὺς ψόγους καὶ ἀσπάζεσθαι τοὺς ἐπαίνους τοὺς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐκείνου, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοὺς τῶν πολλῶν. ∆ηλαδή. Ταύτη ἄρα αὐτῷ πρακτέον καὶ γυμναστέον καὶ ἐδεστέον γε καὶ ποτέον, ᾗ ἂν τῷ ἑνὶ δοκῇ τῷ ἐπιστάτῃ καὶ ἐπαΐοντι μᾶλλον ἢ ξύμπασι τοῖς ἄλλοις. Ἔστι ταῦτα. Εἶεν. ἀπειθήσας δὲ τῷ ἑνὶ καὶ ἀτιμάσας αὐτοῦ τὴν δόξαν καὶ τοὺς ἐπαίνους, τιμήσας δὲ τοὺς τῶν πολλῶν καὶ μηδὲν ἐπαϊόντων ἆρα οὐδὲν κακὸν πείσεται; Πῶς γὰρ οὔ; Τί δ' ἐστὶ τὸ κακὸν τοῦτο; καὶ ποῖ τείνει καὶ εἰς τί τῶν τοῦ ἀπειθοῦντος; ∆ηλονότι εἰς τὸ σῶμα τοῦτο ὃ διόλλυσι. 13.6.8 Καλῶς λέγεις. οὐκοῦν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ὦ Κρίτων, οὕτως, ἵνα μὴ πάντα διίωμεν. καὶ δὴ καὶ περὶ τῶν δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ αἰσχρῶν καὶ καλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν, περὶ ὧν νῦν ἡ βουλὴ ἡμῖν ἐστι, πότερον τῇ τῶν πολλῶν δόξῃ δεῖ ἡμᾶς ἕπεσθαι καὶ φοβεῖσθαι αὐτήν, ἢ τῇ τοῦ ἑνός, εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἐπαΐων, ὃν δεῖ καὶ αἰσχύνεσθαι καὶ φοβεῖσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ ξύμπαντας τοὺς ἄλλους; ᾧ εἰ μὴ ἀκολουθήσομεν, διαφθεροῦμεν ἐκεῖνο καὶ λωβησόμεθα ὃ τῷ μὲν δικαίῳ βέλτιον ἐγίνετο, τῷ δὲ ἀδίκῳ ἀπώλλυτο. ἢ οὐδέν ἐστι τοῦτο; Οἶμαι ἔγωγε, ὦ Σώκρατες. 13.6.9 Φέρε δή, ἐὰν τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑγιεινοῦ μὲν βέλτιον γινόμενον, ὑπὸ τοῦ νοσώδους δὲ διαφθειρόμενον διολέσωμεν, πειθόμενοι μὴ τῇ τῶν ἐπαϊόντων δόξῃ, ἆρα βιωτὸν ἡμῖν ἐστι διεφθαρμένου αὐτοῦ; ἔστι δέ που τὸ σῶμα, ἢ οὐχί; Ναί. Ἆρ' οὖν βιωτὸν ἡμῖν ἐστι μετὰ μοχθηροῦ καὶ διεφθαρμένου σώματος; Οὐδαμῶς. 13.6.10 Ἀλλὰ μετ' ἐκείνου ἄρα ἡμῖν βιωτὸν διεφθαρμένου ὃ τὸ ἄδικον μὲν λωβᾶται, τὸ δὲ δίκαιον ὀνίνησιν; ἢ φαυλότερον ἡγούμεθα εἶναι τοῦ σώματος ἐκεῖνο, ὅ τί ποτ' ἐστὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων, περὶ ὃ ἥ τε ἀδικία καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἐστίν; Οὐδαμῶς. Ἀλλὰ τιμιώτερον; Πολύ γε. 13.6.11 Οὐκ ἄρα, ὦ βέλτιστε, πάνυ ἡμῖν οὕτω φροντιστέον τί ἐροῦσιν οἱ πολλοὶ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ τί ὁ ἐπαΐων περὶ τῶν δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων, ὁ εἷς, καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ ἀλήθεια. ὥστε πρῶτον μὲν ταύτη οὐκ ὀρθῶς εἰσηγῇ, εἰσηγούμενος τῆς τῶν πολλῶν δόξης δεῖν ἡμᾶς φροντίζειν περὶ τῶν δικαίων καὶ καλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων.» 13.6.12 Καὶ ὁ σωτήριος δὲ λόγος φησί· «∆όξαν τὴν παρὰ ἀνθρώπων ζητεῖτε καὶ τὴν δόξαν τὴν παρὰ μόνου τοῦ ἑνὸς οὐ ζητεῖτε.» διὸ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἀγῶσιν ὀρθῶς πράττομεν οὐ σκοποῦντες τί ἡμᾶς οἱ πολλοὶ ἐροῦσιν, ἀλλὰ τί βούλεται εἷς ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, ὃν ἅπαξ κρίσει ἑλομένους προσήκει καὶ τότε ὁμοίως ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ πρότερον τιμᾶν καὶ μὴ μετατίθεσθαι, μηδ' «ἂν ἡ τῶν πολλῶν δύναμις ὥσπερ παῖδας ἡμᾶς μορμολύττηται.» τοιοῦτοι δὲ ἦσαν καὶ οἱ πάλαι παρ' Ἑβραίοις ἐν μαρτυρίῳ διαλάμψαντες.