Not long after that a revolution terminated the power of the
thirty and the form of government as it then was. And once more,
though with more hesitation, I began to be moved by the desire to take
part in public and political affairs. Well, even in the new
government, unsettled as it was, events occurred which one would
naturally view with disapproval; and it was not surprising that in a
period of revolution excessive penalties were inflicted by some
persons on political opponents, though those who had returned from
exile at that time showed very considerable forbearance. But once more
it happened that some of those in power brought my friend Socrates,
whom I have mentioned, to trial before a court of law, laying a most
iniquitous charge against him and one most inappropriate in his
case: for it was on a charge of impiety that some of them prosecuted
and others condemned and executed the very man who would not
participate in the iniquitous arrest of one of the friends of the
party then in exile, at the time when they themselves were in exile
and misfortune.
As I observed these incidents and the men engaged in public affairs,
the laws too and the customs, the more closely I examined them and the
farther I advanced in life, the more difficult it seemed to me to
handle public affairs aright. For it was not possible to be active
in politics without friends and trustworthy supporters; and to find
these ready to my hand was not an easy matter, since public affairs at
Athens were not carried on in accordance with the manners and
practices of our fathers; nor was there any ready method by which I
could make new friends.
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