New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-01-13
TW I ne TIU1Ic
Socrates ana tbe @lnesebool aaen.

Mr.. EDlroR: One word more, if you please,
and will endeavor this time not to be very long
Your libcralily / have already experienced, and
thank you for it. My s,rong conviction that you
possess honesty and independence in degree sur
passed by of your profession is the more sin
cere, because it has been forced upon me by the
general tone and spirit OF your paper, notwi'h'
standing the almost daily perusal of some sent,-
ments TO which Ihad strong dislike Politically
l most cordially sgrec with you, and permit me
here TO say that your main fault editor, is All
excess OF candor towards those adversares who
will neither appreciate nor return 1t. But no
more of this, lest | should break my promise
That there is cant, as you charge, in Old-School-
ism, am compelled to admit; but in the remarks
in Wednesdays paper, there is one point which
very anxious 10 have more correctly stated.
One of your correspondents has observed that
SOCRATES was imprisoned and put to death by The
Oli.Schoo Men of his day, charges almost pre-
cisely the same as those now made against CHAN.
NlSe.' The parallel (you say "runs on ali fouts.
This assertion, Mr.. Editor, since you love plain
speaking, we utterly deny. The O.d.Scbool Men
of the day were not the actors in that atrocious
deed. History has lef, US details too minute, to
suffer any imposition OF that kind to prevail. We
learn from Xenophon's Memorabilia Ono mean au-
rhority in this matter, the author himself being one
of the finest specimens of the O.d-School gentry
of that day both in Church and Slate,) that the
death of Socrates was primarily accustomed by the
cutting reproof he once gave to corrupt and pow
erful politician. The bad conduc, of ais favorite
pupil Alcibiades, and not any specified doctrines,
furnished the ground of the charge against him OF
corrup,ing the youth, but the proximate causes OF
his death may DE found in that rabble of liberal
Free. Thinkers, with the buiioon Aristophanes at
their head who nightly, in the theatre, held up TO
open ridicue the religion of their country intro
duong the Gods upon the stage speaking bad
Crock, and designedly rendering the whole N.Y.
thoosy odicus, by connecting it with the mos, ri
dicalous and obscene representations. The nib
adry obscenisy, and profsne jes,ng with all things
held sacred, which are 10 be found every where in
the pages of Aristophanss, testify TOO plainly what
kind of Old-School Men these accusers Of Socra-
ties were, and what respect they had for the Gods,
or tor the traditions Of their ancestors.
Next to these may be ranked the reforming So
phis,s, NEST of whom were radicals in the State,
and pantlte!s,s in eRigion AR,ons them was Pro
tagoras, weltkuown Atheist, and such an utter
scep,ic that be has been we'll styled the Hume OF
Antiquity; also D;agoras, who openly denied the
exs;eace OF all gods, and preached as bare-faced
psntheisw "a Emerson or Abner kneeland. You
might as well call Hobbies and Votaire Od-Schoo
men as these. There was Callicles, and Gorgias
who like Jeremy Ben,ham taught tina, sensual
pleasure the suu,mum bonum of human ex-
is;cnee; and Hippias, OF the crosses. spe-
cimens Of ancient radicalism, who COMPOUNDED
law with physical power, aud called upon men to
throw of the yoke of civil government as an
usurped violation of natural rights. Gov. Dorr
and Garrison and Abby Kelley are just US good
Old.School men as he was. There was Cri,ia.
also. the political enemy whern Aenophon tells US
Socrates had Offended. He TOO was transcend
entail paa,heis, las appears from some preserved
and sa,heasic fragments OF his wri,ings) and like
some Of the Tammauy Hall preachers, aserioed
the origin of all religion political considerations.
These were the men with whom Socrates wassveF
engaged in bitter strife, and most OF whom I'm me-
aia,ev or remotely were active agents IN sfiscans
bis death. But whc formed thar group OF fa'shiu