ABSTRACT
In Athens men were citizens first and anything else after that. "An Athenian citizen," says Pericles, in the oration put into his mouth by Thucydides —" an Athenian citizen does not neglect the state because he takes care of his own household. We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as a harmless but as a useless character." What we want is more public spirit which will bring men and women outside their excellent homes to think and work disinterestedly for the common weal. Socrates, at any rate, cannot be accused of subordinating public to home duties. In a town of citizens he was distinguished for his public ardour, though it was exposed to misrepresentation or lack of recognition because it did not run in the conventional channels. Socrates then fulfilled the military and judicial functions which devolved upon him, but he kept aloof from the game of politics which so fascinated his fellow-citizens.
