A Contrast of Vice and Virtue

Many of humankind’s greatest stories illustrate a society mistakenly condemning its heroes while elevating its enemies. The concept of a society condemning heroes and elevating its enemies is a major element of ancient stories. In the “Apology” of the Trial and Death of Socrates, the author, Plato, contrasts Socractes’s humility and honesty with his enemies’ pride and deceitfulness, using an appeal to human morality to show that Socrates should be absolved of guilt and set free.

Plato first contrasts Socrates’ humility with the pride of his enemies, showing that Socrates has been a better man than any one of them. Socrates, who is widely-known as a wise man, says that he has “no wisdom, small or great” (22). Though many other teachers take money as payment from their students, Socrates does not over-value his wisdom. While he spends the bulk of his time teaching and discussing philosophy with others, he refuses to take payment from anyone for his words or his time (21). While Socrates does not believe himself to be wise, the men of Athens believe themselves to be sagacious and take pride in their self-perceived wisdom. Socrates gives two examples of self-perceived wise men: one of a politician and another of a well-known wise man. Socrates believes that the essence of his wisdom comes from the fact that he does not think himself to be wise, and he tries to explain to the politician and wise man that they will gain wisdom if they realize that they are not wise either. (23, 24). The politician and wise man, however, feel threatened by Socrates’ seemingly negative evaluation of their wisdom and make themselves his enemies (23). While Socrates recognizes and advertises his lack of wisdom, his accusers falsely believe themselves to be wise and pompously publicize their perceived wisdom.

By contrasting Socrates’s humble view of his wisdom with his enemies’ haughty view of their own wisdom, Plato demonstrates that Socrates is the most humble, and therefore, virtuous, Athenian citizen. Despite his virtue, innocence, and commitment to helping others understand the meaning of wisdom, Socrates is hated and tried for spreading discord among the Atheniam people. Meanwhile, the arrogant members of the accusing crowd, namely the politician and wise man, hate Socrates because he unintentionally wounded their senses of ego, which leads them to have him convicted of spreading chaos (41). Plato contrasts the innocent and humble nature of Socrates with the hateful and vainglorious nature of his enemies, demonstrating that pride ironically leads the haughty members of the Athenian crowd to destroy their most humble citizen.

After first comparing Socrates’s humility with his enemies’ pride, Plato then contrasts Socrates’ humility with his enemies’ deceitfulness. He then states that he does not change his message based on his audience, but speaks to individuals the same message that he speaks to the entire world (33).  Socrates says, “If any one likes to come and hear me while I am pursuing my mission, whether he be young or old, he may freely come” (33). Socrates does not change his message based on the character, age, race, economic status, or number of his listeners. His enemies, though, seek out the most mentally vulnerable and impressionable members of society and spread rumors about Socrates among them. Because they target their rumors at impressionable and ignorant children, the accuser’s numerous claims against Socrates’s character isare accepted without rebuttal (20). Socrates’s accusers take advantage of the ignorance of children to spread false messages. Socrates himself, meanwhile, readily allows his ideas to be critiqued by anyone of any background.

By illustrating Socrates’s honesty in contrast with his enemies’ deceitfulness, Plato shows that Socrates is more honest than many of the men of Athens. Socrates allows anyone from any background to learn from him, and speaks the same message to each of his students. However, by aiming lies about Socrates’s character at children and taking advantage of their still-developing minds, Socrates’s enemies show themselves to be opportunistic liars. 

In the “Apology,” Plato uses the extreme differences between the characters of Socrates and Socrates’ enemies to illustrate that society often condemns its heroes while elevating its villains. The stark difference between Socrates’ humble and honest character, and his enemies’ prideful and deceitful characters is made even more severe by the fact that Socrates is on trial for his life, while his enemies are the accusers. Socrates, a humble and honest man, is in danger of being put to death by men who are conceited and tell lies to children. Plato uses contrast between Socrates’s virtue and his enemies’ corruption to directly appeal to the human sense of morality and argue that Socrates should be acquitted of all charges and allowed to live. 

A Formidable Explanation

From the creation of humanity, mankind has devised countless ways to explain the difficulties and tragedies of everyday life. While some ancient cultures blamed fate for their difficulties, others believed that the gods were to blame for humankind’s troubles. In the Aeneid, Virgil uses Aeolus’s storm and the havoc it causes to illustrate that the gods hold ultimate power over both mortal and immortal lives. 

Aeolus’s attempt to eliminate the Trojan people greatly disrupts the lives of Aeneas’s crew. Juno hates the Trojan people and wants to drown them all (17-80). Upon her request, Aeolus frees the spirits of the winds, which heave up mammoth waves from the depths of the ocean that crash against the crew’s ships. Immediately after the waves form, the sun is blotted out, temporarily blinding the crew while thunder crashes in the background (1.100-1.109). Virgil writes that some Trojan soldiers are killed instantly by the violent storm, demonstrating that Juno possesses the power to end human life (1.109-110). Although Aeolus fails to completely wipe out the Trojan people, his storm terrifies the surviving soldiers. The surviving crew is left exhausted, soaked, and desperate for dry land (1.203-204). Upon reaching land, Aeneas and his crew cannot find the rest of the soldiers who were sailing alongside them and fear that they had perished in the storm (1.215-2.129, 2.256-2.570). These illustrations of the consequences of Juno’s wrath perfectly illustrate that she possesses the power to harm entire crews of men, even those who are well accustomed to pain.

Aeolus’s attempt to eliminate the Trojan people sends Aeneas into a state of depression. Aeneas is the demigod son of Venus and a Trojan general (1.495). Once Aeneas and the remaining members of his crew reach land, Aeneas attempts to encourage them by telling them to “call up your courage again,” and to “dismiss your grief and fear” (2.38). However, Virgil indicates that Aeneas himself fears for the lives of his men when he states that Aeneas is “sick with mounting cares” and has “anguish buried in his heart” (1.246). After first detailing Aeneas’s private worries about his men, Virgil demonstrates the soldiers’ public worries through their contemplations on the fates of their missing comrades (1.253-254). Unfortunately, the remaining crew’s discussion about the fate of the missing men only serves to deepen Aeneas’s fear (1.258-263). Aeneas is not a soft man—Prince Ilioneus himself states that Aeneas is the bravest man alive—but Juno is still able to hurt Aeneas emotionally by separating him from his men (1.657-658). Virgil uses the character of Aeneas, the strongest among an entire crew of soldiers, to demonstrate that the gods can hurt even the strongest men.

By threatening the lives of Aphrodite’s son and the rest of the Trojans, Juno hurts Venus. Venus, who is one of the original twelve Roman gods, is devastated when she learns about the terrible fate that Aeneas and the rest of the Trojans have suffered. However, Venus blames her father, Jupiter, for the storm and begins to believe that he has abandoned the Trojan people (1.284). By attacking the Trojans, Juno causes Venus to distrust her own father. The pain that Aeneas and his brethren are going through is enough to make the goddess of love, who is rarely unhappy, cry and beg Zeus to save the Trojans (1.270-271). Juno, by attacking the Trojans, unwittingly causes Venus to degrade herself by begging Jupiter to show mercy on her child. In illustrating the powerful ways in which Juno was able to affect Venus, Virgil shows that the gods hold ultimate power over one another. 

Virgil uses Aeolus’s storm in the Aeneid to demonstrate the absolute power the gods hold over human life and one another. In the very beginning of the book, the goddess Juno and her accomplice, Aeolus, attempt to kill a group of Trojan soldiers, permanently altering the lives of these men. Virgil shows that Aeolus is able to single-handedly kill several of Aeneas’s men and nearly drown the rest. Next, he demonstrates that Juno is able to emotionally scar and frighten Aeneas, who is not only a demigod but also one of the bravest men alive. Finally, he shows that Juno’s power is not limited to humans but also extends to other gods. A comprehensive demonstration of the absolute power that the Roman gods held over the lives of others is perfectly illustrated in the Aeneid through the characters of the Trojan crew, Aeneas, and Aphrodite.

 

Introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Caleb Otey. This is my first year as a full-time student and participating in Great Books. I am currently double-majoring in Computer Science and Bible. After college I hope to study for a Master's degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering and continue studying the Bible. 

Other than school, I enjoy reading, playing basketball, playing video games with friends, and blogging. 

I hope to make plenty of friends in Great Books! I've enjoyed meeting everyone so far and look forward to the future. Good luck!