1 h 48 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 44 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 44 pagesAbout this book
What is worth defending when your own life is at stake?
In Plato’s Apology, Socrates stands before an Athenian jury accused of dishonoring the city’s gods, introducing new divine things, and corrupting the young. He answers with questions rather than pleas for mercy. As he confronts his accusers, the trial becomes a test of whether a man can keep his principles when his life hangs in the balance.
Here, apology means a defense, not an expression of regret. Socrates explains how a question put to the oracle at Delphi leads him to question others. He challenges Meletus directly and asks what wisdom, duty, and courage demand. Short and almost entirely in one voice, Plato’s account brings you close to a man who refuses to bend his convictions to save himself.
What you’ll discover
- Wisdom begins with questions Follow Socrates as he examines what people know and what they only think they know.
- An accuser under scrutiny Watch Socrates question Meletus directly, putting the charge against him to the test.
- The city’s persistent gadfly Discover why Socrates pictures Athens as a sleepy horse that needs his sting.
- Principles under pressure Consider why Socrates places duty above survival when his way of life puts him in danger.
- A voice without pleading Encounter a defense that asks the jury to listen to reason rather than grant mercy.
Is it for you?
This is for anyone curious about where Western philosophy begins, or about what it means to stand by your convictions under pressure. It suits first-time readers of Plato. If you want a full system of ideas, you may find it thin.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Old slanders are harder to answer
- The oracle set him questioning others
- Meletus cannot defend his own charge
- Duty matters more than staying alive
- The gadfly serves the city
- How to face a verdict and death
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 1 h 48 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 44 pages: 5,95 USD when you start free, 12,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 44 pages: 12,95 USD when you start free, 19,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Apology in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Old slanders are harder to answer
Socrates opens by saying he faces two sets of accusers. The first are the recent ones, who brought the formal charges. The second are older and more dangerous, because they have whispered against him for years, when many of the jurors were children. These rumors say that he studies the sky and the earth, and that he makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger.
Socrates points to the comic playwright Aristophanes, whose play The Clouds showed a character named Socrates hanging in a basket and teaching tricks of speech. He says he has nothing to do with such matters. He does not teach for money, as the sophists, the traveling teachers of the day, did. He names a few of them, and he notes that they charge fees and promise to make young men clever.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Plato
428 BC–348 BC · Ancient Greek philosopher
4th-century BCE Greek philosopher.
“I neither know nor think that I know.”
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Apology
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy just the printed book?
Yes. The paperback costs 12,95 USD on its own. Start free and you pay the cost of printing: 5,95 USD for this paperback, and any other book at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is the Apology by Plato about?
It is Plato's version of the speech Socrates gave at his trial in 399 BC. Socrates answers charges of impiety and corrupting the young, and explains why he lives as a questioner of others.
Does apology here mean saying sorry?
No. The Greek word apologia means a defense or a reasoned reply to an accusation. Socrates never says he regrets his way of life. He explains and defends it before the jury.
Is the Apology a true story?
Socrates was a real man and was tried in Athens in 399 BC. Plato attended the trial, but scholars debate how closely his text follows the actual words. It is generally taken as a faithful portrait of Socrates.
Popular in philosophy & ideas
See all
Free
Free
Free
