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12-30-2007, 06:59 PM
|  | whirling dervisher | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Spin me
Posts: 2,024
| | | Cosmic Irony Quote: |
Originally Posted by wikipedia Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history). Irony may also arise from a discordance between acts and results, especially if it is striking, and seen by an outside audience.
Irony is understood as an aesthetic evaluation by an audience, which relies on a sharp discordance between the real and the ideal, and which is variously applied to texts, speech, events, acts, and even fashion. All the different senses of irony revolve around the perceived notion of an incongruity, or a gap between an understanding of reality, or expectation of a reality, and what actually happens.
Irony threatens authoritative models of discourse by "removing the semantic security of ‘one signifier : one signified’";[1][2] irony has some of its foundation in the onlooker’s perception of paradox which arises from insoluble problems.
The connection between irony and humour is somewhat revealed when an expected result of an action does not occur but is instead a surprise that startles us into laughter. However, not all irony is humorous: “grim irony” and “stark irony” are familiar. | Quote: |
Originally Posted by wordnet.com socratic irony
noun
admission of your own ignorance and willingness to learn while exposing someone's inconsistencies by close questioning | Quote: |
Originally Posted by reference.com Cosmic or philisophical Irony
One of the most complex forms of literary expression, more a habit of mind than a rhetorical figure, requiring continual alertness on the part of the reader for proper interpretation. Irony is not simply saying one thing and implying the opposite; the name for this crude form is sarcasm. Irony invites the reader to consider several shades of meaning simultaneously, some of which are elided or cancelled out in the process. The meaning of irony lies precisely in the tension between single statement and multiple meaning. It was suggested by Kierkegaard that the finest irony is undecipherable as such - which comes close to the position of the Romantic ironist, who writes with a keen sense of the double-sidedness of truth and the irreducible ambiguity of language itself. This conception is also referred to as cosmic or philosophical irony. | Examples:
At the age of 23, basketball star "Pistol" Pete Maravich told a Pennsylvania reporter, "I don't want to play 10 years [in the NBA] and then die of a heart attack when I'm 40."[3] In 1988 he collapsed and died of a heart attack at age 40, after playing 10 NBA seasons.
Jim Fixx, who did much to popularize jogging as a form of healthy exercise in his 1977 book "The Complete Book of Running", died at the age of 52 of a heart attack while out jogging.
Please add or comment.
__________________ Marerophilia:
A depth of love that youth can seldom appreciate or communicate;
A love that never can die for it is a wild seed living inside us, and it is what it is; Love: that which bonds the reality of one's being to the mystery of the unknown; Wildflowers: evidence revealed."
~~carefulcarpenter | 
12-30-2007, 07:06 PM
|  | #1 cunt-kicker-in | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Northampton, UK:
Posts: 9,690
| | | Same as synchronicity: there's way less irony in the world than there are totally meaningless coincidences. Pete Maravich probably said a whole lot of things. | 
12-30-2007, 07:34 PM
|  | whirling dervisher | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Spin me
Posts: 2,024
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by Ophiel Ophiuci Same as synchronicity: there's way less irony in the world than there are totally meaningless coincidences. Pete Maravich probably said a whole lot of things. | There is a much bigger cosmic irony going on in my life: last month my wife was intending to buy a book for me from a thriftstore 300 miles away when we were there last month, but didn't. I went with her and my daughter after Christmas to the same store, not knowing anything about the book, and after entering the store I went right to the book section and found the same book. She later told me her side of the story. You might, or might not, appreciate that I have never read the author before, and really knew very little of the subject(person) until yesterday. The old book "Plato:The Apology, Phaedo and Crito of Plato" (The Harvard Classics, copyright 1909,1937).
My wife gets the irony and the synchronicity, both. I read the beginning pages to her last night and she had some very interesting things to discuss with me.
I guess irony and synchronicity can come about by cosmic forces. Rancheria enjoys to ridicule the topic, so I thought it coincidental that I could share this with you today. You may find nothing beyond coincidence, and that is okay; at least it gives you something additional for ammunition.
__________________ Marerophilia:
A depth of love that youth can seldom appreciate or communicate;
A love that never can die for it is a wild seed living inside us, and it is what it is; Love: that which bonds the reality of one's being to the mystery of the unknown; Wildflowers: evidence revealed."
~~carefulcarpenter | 
12-30-2007, 07:36 PM
|  | #1 cunt-kicker-in | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Northampton, UK:
Posts: 9,690
| | | I don't ridicule the idea. I just don't understand why you need to label it "cosmic". How is "cosmic irony" any different from regular irony? | 
12-30-2007, 07:51 PM
|  | whirling dervisher | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Spin me
Posts: 2,024
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by Ophiel Ophiuci I don't ridicule the idea. I just don't understand why you need to label it "cosmic". How is "cosmic irony" any different from regular irony? | Wikipedia broke it down into multiple types; I just wanted to discuss irony and tell you about my current series of events. I wondered if people around here see the bigger picture that was revealed to me yesterday via the reading of "The Apology of Socrates".
Wikipedia refers to it as "Irony of Fate(cosmic irony)"
__________________ Marerophilia:
A depth of love that youth can seldom appreciate or communicate;
A love that never can die for it is a wild seed living inside us, and it is what it is; Love: that which bonds the reality of one's being to the mystery of the unknown; Wildflowers: evidence revealed."
~~carefulcarpenter
Last edited by Sophia_ : 12-30-2007 at 07:57 PM.
| 
12-30-2007, 07:53 PM
|  | ••••••••••••••••••••••••• | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: in the air, in the water, on the ground
Posts: 1,330
| | | of course I'm messing around, and this is taken out of context, but.. "That's what happens when earth fucks with space, never forget that."
~ jimi hendrix | 
12-30-2007, 08:31 PM
| | meaning is the old black | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: circa 1996
Posts: 1,404
| | | i know a lot of ironies of fate, but i call them accidents. | 
12-31-2007, 04:20 PM
|  | whirling dervisher | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Spin me
Posts: 2,024
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by crassy i know a lot of ironies of fate, but i call them accidents. | To some, another word for hate is called "f#@%"!
__________________ Marerophilia:
A depth of love that youth can seldom appreciate or communicate;
A love that never can die for it is a wild seed living inside us, and it is what it is; Love: that which bonds the reality of one's being to the mystery of the unknown; Wildflowers: evidence revealed."
~~carefulcarpenter | 
12-31-2007, 06:45 PM
|  | Strafe Guru Narcissists ! | | Join Date: May 2007 Location: On the Redwood Hwy
Posts: 311
| | | The Galaxy of the Red Dot Kosmic Irony Live Sophy, Titmouse, and Kosmic Mountaingoat Does it fall under the Sophy concept of 'Cosmic Irony' that the elite, exclusive Spiritual Forum discussion board, Noble Realms, has to hear about the drama at Soapies 'Coffee Emporium', as we do at KR. They screen new members through email applications reviewed by Noble Realms' site owner himself, Tom--Montalk. Noble Realms is a great site for Sophy, but it has the feeling of a faggy new age spiritual site to me. But that's o.k., it's just not nearly as free as Kitty Radio, nor as egalitarian and interesting in our KR diversity, and also evidently not immune to Sophiadin_'s tales of Coffee Emporium persecution either.
Here is a little sample of the Noble Realms Sophia narrative made about three weeks ago on NR. It's not the first time he's let the Noble Realmers know about the control of customers at the Coffee Emporium, and how he is persecuted there, but always comes back for more................
Sophia_ writing as Noble Realms member, 'Titmouse'--Kosmic Mountaingoat from the shores of Lake Titikaka: Noble Realms: Spirituality and Metaphysics 12-13-07: ---
"Since earlier in the year I have not been frequenting the Coffee Emporium due to a major focus shift back to my family, work, and personal priorities. The greatest battles waged in discussion with other regulars was usually about ethics or actions. I could not grasp easily the concept that one close friend kept exposing--the idea that we are not necessarily here to assist others; that any action or inaction is valid due to the deterministic nature of the spiritual forces. I strongly believe that free will determines the choices we make. I believe we chose to take action to help or to harm. I cannot witness a person fallen in the street and not ask if they need assistance. My other friend doesn't feel obligated and is concerned about being punished for not allowing a person to learn from their condition. This friend is a computer "trainer" for hi-tech corporations and I rather feel his title is best described as a euphamism for "Indoctrinator". I BELIEVE HE HAS NO ETHICAL FOUNDATION and I regularly have called him on it; this of which I know gets heard throughout the coffee shop. He and I always came back for more discussion so I don't hold, nor do I believe he does, any animosity for our differences.
This spiritual place [Coffee Emporium] where we have come together has revealed some shadow behind the projcted image of love and acceptance. I now am feeling the ramifications of my interest towards spiritual transcendence, via the internet. I wouldn't be surprised if Noble Reams isn't soon frequented by a local Coffee Emporium "bouncer" looking to paint a dark picture of a poet named "carefulcarpenter". ~~carefulcarpenter
Rancheria: Ya all think i ought actually bother sending myself, as the Titmouse named: 'Agent Smith', over to play around at Noble Realms ??? Am I spiritually worthy enough for NR. Am I new agey enough ??? Would Tom Paine, 'Montalk', approve of my 'Agent Smith' email new membership application ?? Do I want to join a faggy site like this ??
Sophia the Noble Realms Titmouse continues with his posting:
If you are interested in the mindset that resists spiritual growth and spiritual awakening you may want to take a look at a few threads at Kittyradio.com:spirtuality forum. My user name is "Sophia_". You can decide for yourselves what you think. The interesting aspect to all of this is that I continually learn spiritual truths whether through spiritual experiences or through "psuedo-crucifixion" by "associate/s" who supports a "spiritual haven" business such as the "Coffee Emporium" (fictitious name used in my writings). I'm sure the leaders of the local spiritual group(also owners of the business) have been behind the efforts to punish me and intimidate me away from any further participation there. Can you fathom a quiet spiritual oriented tea house that would require a mostly fulltime "bouncer"? As an "accociate" I have also witnessed him clearing out a clogged ceptic system and intimidating homeless customers who were "fondling the mechandise" (cd's, sample scent bottles, hats, etc). Can one's authentic spiritual practice be legitimately accepting to such enforcement of "sacred quiet space"? In one overheard comment by the "associate" to a homeless man I heard this--"I've noticed that you take pennies from the penny dish to pay for your coffee, more than once"." 12-13-07 Noble Realms
Ranch and Hooligans: There's more, but I don't want it to get too boring for us KR'ers. I mainly chose this excerpt because it shows the line Sophy uses in his signature quote about me hassling the guy when I escorted him out for pocketing a small wooden box and informed him what the penny tray was for--it was for customers to make up a few cents difference for their coffee or purchases if they were a little short, not for scooping up when you are escorted out for shoplifting. Somehow Sopy likes the sound of his original 'penny' misperception of what he thought I was informing the shoplifter, but oh well, if he likes that fairy tale enough to use with his signature....Maybe it's symbolic of how often he misperceives as he's bringing other's 'misperceptions' up to them. Is that 'Cosmic Irony'. Is Sophy's Noble Realms Alias, Titmouse: 'Kosmic Mountaingoat' also 'Cosmic Irony'? Many people misperceive Sophy's actions and words frequently, apparently.
A wise spiritual debating wordsmith who is more misperceived than anyone else on KR, yet who has no match for clarifying the misperceptions of all us 'misperceivers' ......and has three signature quotes to help us remember this great Kosmic Irony......and thousands of red dots-----each red dot brick illuminates the red dot path to the stars in the galaxy of the Red Dot Kosmic Irony..........
P.S.--- final Kosmic Red Dot Irony: our best friend in common, T.D., is described above as having no ethical foundation, and I paraphrased that as Sophy_ describing T.D., as being "ethic-less". Then Sophy_ responded, in the 'god IS NOT GREAT' thread to my writing Soph had called our friend "ethic-less' that Sophy didn't call T.D. "ethic-less". Well, I say if you maintain that your friend has no ethical foundation, (and Soph continues to call him on this ! ) then me describing Sophy's description of him as "ethic-less" does not really equal a 'mis-perception'. Somewhat ironic. R. | 
12-31-2007, 06:58 PM
|  | Registered Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 150
| | | Irony ! Irony my ass. If you knew anything about Jim Fixx you would know why he died. His father died very young of heart failure. Jim had the same heart problem. I believe his dad died at 42 of heart failure. Jim knew he was not going to live long. His Doctors advised him to stop running. But he said that he most likely live as long as he did because he ran daily. He would die on the road and he did.
As an X Marathon Runner I agree with him. My family has a great deal of heart related problems. Last test I had they said my heart was in great shape..
So in the end Ms Sophie your story of Irony is Bullshit.
Major Pain | 
12-31-2007, 08:57 PM
|  | whirling dervisher | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Spin me
Posts: 2,024
| | "Iron my ass"
I hope you live a long and healthy life. The world needs to study the health needs of the governedmentals!
Let's take a closer look at my recent "red dot/green dot" ratio. Bort has probably contributed 50% of the red dots, and skillful thread production has kept the spirituality forum alive and ripe opportunity for tomato throwers.  Of course there are more skeptical hooligans running around here against spiritual instrospection than curious seekers of cosmic truth. Duh! We need to attract more!!
Popularity has never been my concern here. 
I was quite touched by *cherry bomb*'s rep. She used to be a red dotter grl. Orchestral used to be one of my ardent science-based antagonists. I love the both of them whether they agree or disagree with me.
Let's do a comparison using other terms besides "ethics":
"ethic-less" vs "no ethical foundation"
"home-less" vs "does not own a home"
"character-less" vs "no character development"
"job-less" vs "between jobs"
"wife-less" vs "not with wife"
"wife-less" vs "never been married"
"love-less" vs "no loving foundation"
"heart-less" vs "no heart-felt response"
"degree-less" vs "no educational basis"
"clue-less" vs "not clued into the established protocol"
"meaning-less" vs "no evident meaning"
"humour-less" vs "no foundation in humour"
I'll leave it up to the viewer to weigh the differences in phrasing something which conveniently changes the intended meaning. Nice try, though. This is why I leave poetic irony up to the reader to interpret what they see in my poetry.
Is it poetry because it is written by a self-proclaimed poet, or is it poetry only when the reader is affected poetically? Does art take up residence in the expression of the art, or in the impression it makes on the viewer of the art?
I think Rancheria should do the "Agent Smith" user name; the Matrix Fans would go nuts with you!! Suggest that in your email and see if Tom has a sense of humour.
Tom Paine--- Major Pain. Seems like a synchronicity possibly?
__________________ Marerophilia:
A depth of love that youth can seldom appreciate or communicate;
A love that never can die for it is a wild seed living inside us, and it is what it is; Love: that which bonds the reality of one's being to the mystery of the unknown; Wildflowers: evidence revealed."
~~carefulcarpenter
Last edited by Sophia_ : 12-31-2007 at 09:01 PM.
| 
12-31-2007, 09:15 PM
|  | whirling dervisher | | Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Spin me
Posts: 2,024
| | | The Apology of Socrates Socrates: How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that they almost made me forget who I was, so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have hardly uttered a word of truth. But of the many falsehoods told by them, there was one which quite amazed me; I mean when they said that you should be upon your guard and not allow yourselves to be deceived by the force of my eloquence. To say this, when they were certain to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and proved myself to be anything but a great speaker, did indeed appear to me most shameless, unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth; for if such is their meaning, I admit that I am eloquent.
But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have scarcely spoken the truth at all; but from me you shall hear the whole truth: not, however, delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases. No, by heaven! but I shall use the words and arguments which occur to me at the moment; for I am confident in the justice of my cause: at my time of life I ought not to be appearing before you, O men of Athens, in the character of a juvenile orator, let no one expect it of me. And I must beg of you to grant me a favor:, If I defend myself in my accustomed manner, and you hear me using the words which I have been in the habit of using in the agora, at the tables of the money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised, and not to interrupt me on this account. For I am more than seventy years of age, and appearing now for the first time in a court of law, I am quite a stranger to the language of the place; and therefore I would have you regard me as if I were really a stranger, whom you would accuse if he spoke in his native tongue, and after the fashion of his country:, Am I making an unfair request of you? Never mind the manner, which may or may not be good; but think only of the truth of my words, and give heed to that: let the speaker speak truly and the judge decide justly.
And first, I have to reply to the older charges and to my first accusers, and then I will go on to the later ones. For of old I have had many accusers, who have accused me falsely to you during many years; and I am more afraid of them than of Anytus and his associates, who are dangerous, too, in their own way. But far more dangerous are the others, who began when you were children, and took possession of your minds with their falsehoods, telling of one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse appear the better cause. The disseminators of this tale are the accusers whom I dread; for their hearers are apt to fancy that such inquirers do not believe in the existence of the gods. And they are many, and their charges against me are of ancient date, and they were made by them in the days when you were more impressionable than you are now, in childhood, or it may have been in youth , and the cause when heard went by default, for there was none to answer. And hardest of all, I do not know and cannot tell the names of my accusers; unless in the chance case of a Comic poet. 1 All who from envy and malice have persuaded you, some of them having first convinced themselves, all this class of men are most difficult to deal with; for I cannot have them up here, and cross-examine them, and therefore I must simply fight with shadows in my own defense, and argue when there is no one who answers. I will ask you then to assume with me, as I was saying, that my opponents are of two kinds; one recent, the other ancient: and I hope that you will see the propriety of my answering the latter first, for these accusations you heard long before the others, and much oftener.
Well, then, I must make my defense, and endeavor to clear away in a short time, a slander which has lasted a long time. May I succeed, if to succeed be for my good and yours, or likely to avail me in my cause The task is not an easy one; I quite understand the nature of it. And so leaving the event with God, in obedience to the law I will now make my defense.
I will begin at the beginning, and ask what is the accusation which has given rise to the slander of my person, and in fact has encouraged Meletus to prefer this charge against me, Well, what do the slanderers say? They shall be my prosecution and I will sum up their words in an affidavit: 'Socrates is an evil-doer, and a curious person, who searches into things under the earth and in heaven, and he makes the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the aforesaid doctrines to others.' Such is the nature of the accusation: it is just what you have yourselves have seen in the comedy of Aristophanes, who has introduced a man whom he calls Socrates going about and saying that he walks in air and talking a deal of nonsense concerning matters of which I do not pretend to know either much or little, not that I mean to speak disparagingly of any one who is a student of natural philosophy. I should be very sorry if Meletus could bring so grave a charge against me. But the simple truth is, O Athenians, that I have nothing to do with physical speculations: many of those here present are witnesses to the truth of this, and to them I appeal. Speak then, you who have heard me, and tell your neighbors whether any of you have ever known me hold forth in few words or in many upon such matters. . . . You hear their answer. And from what they say of this part of the charge you will be able to judge of the truth of the rest.
As little foundation is there for the report that I am a teacher, and take money; this accusation has no more truth in it than the other. Although, if a man were really able to instruct mankind, to receive money for giving instruction would, in my opinion, be an honor to him. There is Gorgias of Leontium, and Prodicus of Ceos, and Hippias of Elis, who go the round of the cities, and are able to persuade the young men to leave their own citizens by whom they might be taught for nothing, and come to them whom they not only pay, but are thankful if they may be allowed to pay them. There is at this time a Parian philosopher residing in Athens, of whom I have heard; and I came to hear of him in this way:, I came across a man who has spent a world of money on the Sophists, Callias, the son of Hipponicus, and knowing that he had sons, I asked him: 'Callias,' I said, 'if your two sons were foals or calves there would be no difficulty in finding some one to put over them; we should hire a trainer of horses, or a farmer probably, who would improve and perfect them in their own proper virtue and excellence; but as they are human beings, whom are you thinking of placing over them? Is there any one who understands human and political virtue? You must have thought about the matter, for you have sons; is there any one?' 'There is,' he said. 'Who is he?' said I; 'and of what country? and what does he charge?' 'Evenus the Parian,' he replied; 'he is the man, and his charge is five minae.' Happy is Evenus, I said to myself, if he really has this wisdom, and teaches at such a moderate charge. Had I the same, I should have been very proud and conceited; but the truth is that I have no knowledge of the kind.
I dare say, Athenians, that some one among you will reply, 'Yes, Socrates, but what is the origin of these accusations which are brought against you; there must have been something strange which you have been doing? All these rumors and this talk about you would never have arisen if you had been like other men: tell us, then, what is the cause of them, for we should be sorry to judge hastily of you.' Now I regard this as a fair challenge, and I will endeavor to explain to you the reason why I am called wise and have such an evil fame. Please to attend then. And although some of you may think that I am joking, I declare that I will tell you the entire truth. Men of Athens, this reputation of mine has come of a certain sort of wisdom which I possess. If you ask me what kind of wisdom, I reply, wisdom such as may perhaps be attained by every man, for to that extent I am inclined to believe that I am wise; whereas the persons of whom I was speaking have a superhuman wisdom, which I may fail to describe, because I have it not myself; and he who says that I have, speaks falsely, and is taking away my character. And here, O men of Athens, I must beg you not to interrupt me, even if I seem to say something extravagant. For the word which I will speak is not mine. I will refer you to a witness who is worthy of credit; that witness shall be the God of Delphi, he will tell you about my wisdom, if I have any, and of what sort it is. You must have known Chaerephon; he was early a friend of mine, and also a friend of yours, for he shared in the recent exile of the people, and returned with you. Well, Chaerephon, as you know, was very impetuous in all his doings, and he went to Delphi 2 and boldly asked the oracle to tell him whether, as I was saying, I must beg you not to interrupt, he asked the oracle to tell him whether any one was wiser than I was, and the Pythian prophetess answered, that there was no man wiser. Chaerephon is dead himself; but his brother, who is in court, will confirm the truth of what I'm saying.
Why do I mention this? Because I am going to explain to you why I have such an evil name. When I heard the answer, I said to myself, What can the god mean? and what is the interpretation of his riddle? for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great. What then can he mean when he says that I am the wisest of men? And yet he is a god, and cannot lie; that would be against his nature. After long consideration, I thought of a method of trying the question. I reflected that if I could only find a man wiser than myself, then I might go to the god with a refutation in my hand. I should say to him,' Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said that I was the wisest.' Accordingly I went to one who had the reputation of wisdom, and observed him, his name I need not mention; he was a politician whom first among I selected for examination, and the result was as follows: When I began to talk with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and still wiser by himself; and thereupon I tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but was not really wise; and the consequence was that he hated me, and his enmity was shared by several who were present and because I heard me. So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: conceit of Man, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is, for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him. Then I went to another who had still higher pretensions to wisdom, and my conclusion was exactly the same. Whereupon I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him.
Then I went to one man after another, being not unconscious of the enmity which I provoked, and I lamented and feared this: but necessity was laid upon me, the word of God, I thought, ought to be considered first. And I said to myself, I must go to all who appear to know, and find out the meaning of the oracle. And I swear to you, Athenians, by the dog I swear!, for I must tell you the truth, the result of my mission was just this: I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish; and that others less esteemed were really wiser and better. I will tell you the whole of my wanderings and of the 'Herculean' labors, as I may call them, which I endured only to find at last the oracle irrefutable. After the politicians, I went to the poets; tragic, dithyrambic, and all sorts. And there, I said to myself, you will be instantly detected; now you will find out that you are more ignorant than they are. Accordingly, I took them some of the most elaborate passages in their own writings, and asked what was the meaning of them, thinking that they would teach me something. Will you believe me? I am almost ashamed to confess the truth, but I must say that there is hardly a person present who would not have talked better about their poetry than they did themselves. Then I knew that not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them. The poets appeared to me to be much in the same case; and I further observed that upon the strength of their poetry they believed themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise. So I departed, conceiving myself to be superior to them for the same reason that I was superior to the politicians.
At last I went to the artisans; I was conscious that I knew nothing at all, as I may say, and I was sure that they knew many fine things; and here I was not mistaken, for they did know many things of which I was ignorant, and in this they certainly were wiser than I was. But I observed that even the good artisans fell into the same error as the poets;, because they were good workmen they thought that they also knew all sorts of high matters, and this defect in them overshadowed their wisdom; and therefore I asked myself on behalf of the oracle, whether I would like to be as I was, neither having their knowledge nor their ignorance, or like them in both; and I made answer to myself and to the oracle that I was better off as I was.
This inquisition has led to my having many enemies of the worst and most dangerous kind, and has given occasion also to many calumnies. And I am called wise, for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find wanting in others: but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of men is worth little or nothing; he is not speaking of Socrates, he is only using my name by way of illustration, as if he said, O men, he is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing. And so I go about the world, obedient to the god, and search and make enquiry into the wisdom of any one, whether citizen or stranger, who appears to be wise; and if he is not wise, then I show him that he is not wise; and my occupation quite absorbs me, and I have no time to give attention to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god.
There is another thing:—young men of the richer classes, who have not much to do, come about me of their own accord; they like to hear the pretenders examined, and they often imitate me, and proceed to examine others; there are plenty of persons, as they quickly discover, who think that they know something, but really know little or nothing; and then those who are examined by them, instead of being angry with themselves are angry with me: this confounded Socrates, they say; this villainous misleader of youth!, and then if somebody asks them, Why, what evil does he practice or teach?, they do not know, and can't tell; but in order that they may not appear to be at a loss, they repeat the ready-made charges which are used against all philosophers about teaching things up in the clouds and under the earth, and making the worse appear the better cause; for they do not like to confess that their pretense of knowledge has been detected, which is the truth; and as they are numerous and ambitious and energetic, and are drawn up in battle array and have persuasive tongues, they have filled your ears with their loud and inveterate calumnies. And this is the reason why my three accusers, Meletus and Anytus and Lycon, have set upon me; Meletus, who has a quarrel with me on behalf of the poets; Anytus, on behalf of the craftsmen and politicians; Lycon, on behalf of the rhetoricians: and as I said at the beginning, I cannot expect to get rid of such a mass of calumny all in a moment. And this, O men of Athens, is the truth and the whole truth; I have concealed nothing, I have dissembled nothing. And yet, I know that my plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?, Hence has arisen the prejudice against me; and this is the reason of it, as you will find out either in this or in any future enquiry.
I have said enough in my defense against the first class of my accusers; I turn to the second class. They are headed by Meletus, that good man and true lover of his country, as he calls himself. Against these, too, I must try to make a defense:, Let their affidavit be read: it contains something of this kind: It says that Socrates is a doer of evil, who corrupts the youth; and who does not believe in the gods of the state, but has other new divinities of his own. Such is the charge; and now let us examine the particular counts. He says that I am a doer of evil, and corrupt the youth; but I say, O men of Athens, that Meletus is a doer of evil, in that he pretends to be in earnest when he is only in jest, and is so eager to bring men to trial from a pretended zeal and interest about matters in which he really never had the smallest interest. And the truth of this I will endeavor to prove to you.
Come hither, Meletus, and let me ask a question of you. You think a great deal about the improvement of youth?
Yes, I do.
The complete address: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/APOLOGY.HTM
__________________ Marerophilia:
A depth of love that youth can seldom appreciate or communicate;
A love that never can die for it is a wild seed living inside us, and it is what it is; Love: that which bonds the reality of one's being to the mystery of the unknown; Wildflowers: evidence revealed."
~~carefulcarpenter | 
01-01-2008, 01:58 AM
| | meaning is the old black | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: circa 1996
Posts: 1,404
| | | i meant baby whoopsies. but ok. what the hell is that bible length thing above? i can't read. i'm illiterate at anything over 3 paragraphs. | 
01-01-2008, 03:44 AM
|  | Registered Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 150
| | | New Years Resolution My New years Resolution is to give up Ms Sophia. I will no longer respond to any of her post. Her need to answer everything with someone else's thoughts shows she has no true thought of her own.
I am giving up Antagonists and Holy Rollers this year.
I will only allow people who can be authentic in my life. And they speak for themselves..!
For Me
Major Gain
Last edited by Governmento : 01-01-2008 at 03:45 AM.
Reason: spelling
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01-01-2008, 02:26 PM
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