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people like Voltaire argued something like this.
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But is that to do justice to Socrates?
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The one thing that Plato does not argue
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is that Socrates should simply be tolerated.
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To tolerate his teaching
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would seem to trivialize it in some sense,
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to render it harmless.
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The Athenians at least pay Socrates the tribute
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of taking him seriously,
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which is exactly why he is on trial.
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The Athenians refuse to tolerate Socrates
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because they know