A Sparkling Linguistic Diamond
Socrates languishes in
a stinking prison cell awaiting execution: death by drinking hemlock. Having
been given a 28-day reprieve (not by his vile accusers or the Council of Five
Hundred, but due to the observation of a festival period), he scribbles an
account of his life on scrolls smuggled in by a kind jailer. In it, he reveals
himself to his sons (and to the reader) not as the haughty Greek philosopher we
have come to believe he was, but as a fallible human being. His humble
beginnings as a stonemason surprised me (bringing into focus the book’s cover:
even a hard block of stone cannot suppress new life sprouting from it).
I never
knew Socrates was drafted into several military campaigns – albeit without much
enthusiasm on his part. He is an outwardly gruff sort of man, but his long internal
struggles with himself and toward his family, friends and foes at last expose
him as quite vulnerable and deeply caring; not that he admitted this to anyone until
the end of his life.
The author injects
conversations and philosophical arguments as they might have taken place during
those heady days of Athenian dominance; not an easy read, mind you, but so well
executed I never skipped a single paragraph. What a joy to read such brilliant
and intelligent use of language. While this novel is a literary gem, it is by
no means devoid of action, intrigue, and surprises with plenty human fallacies
and insights.
I also appreciated the
appended glossary of Greek names, places and gods. It made me realize those
times were real, as were most of the people, their beliefs, continual wars and personal
struggles. Having buried myself too long perhaps in the hot sands of Ancient Egypt, I am ashamed to say that the little I knew about Ancient
Greece I had almost forgotten. I am now inspired to re-acquaint myself with another
great ancient civilization, alas also brought to its knees by Man’s forever impetus to
wage war.
https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.com/the-confessions-of-socrates
