ed
a grovelling, even a conciliatory tone, he would have been acquitted.
As it was, he was found guilty by a bare majority. The law enacted
that, when the charge was proved, those who had brought the accusation
should first propose the penalty which they thought fitting; then the
accused himself should propose an alternative penalty. It was for the
judges to decide which of the two should be inflicted. The accusers of
Socrates proposed the death-penalty. Here again Socrates might have
escaped by proposing at once some petty punishment. This would have
satisfied the people, who were only anxious to score off the
troublesome philosopher and pedant. But Socrates proudly affirmed
that, as he was guilty of no crime, he deserved no punishment. To
propose a penalty would be to admit his guilt. Far from being a guilty
person, he considered himself in the light of a public benefactor, and
as such, if he were to get his deserts, he proposed that he should be
publicly honoured by being given a seat at the President's table.
Nevertheless, as the law forced him to propose a penalty, he would,
without prejudice to his {137} plea of innocence, suggest a fine of
thirty minas. This conduct so exasperated the judges that he was now
condemned to death by a large majority, about eighty of those who had
previously voted for his acquittal now voting for his execution.

Thirty days elapsed before he was executed, and these days were spent
in prison. His friends, who had free access to him, urged him to
escape. These things were possible in Athens. Anaxagoras had
apparently escaped with the help of Pericles. A little silver in the
hands of the jailguards would probably have settled the matter.
Socrates could fly to Thessaly, where the law could not reach him, as
Anaxagoras had fled to Ionia. But Socrates steadily refused, saying
that to flee from death was cowardly, and that one ought to obey the
laws. The law had decreed his death, and he must obey. After thirty
days, therefore, the poison cup was brought to him, and he drank it
without flinching. Here is Plato's account of the death of Socrates,
which I quote from the "Phaedo." In detail it cannot be considered
historical, but we may well believe that the main incidents as well as
the picture it gives us of the bearing and demeanour of the
philosopher in his last moments, are accurate representations of the
facts.

"He rose and went into a chamber to bathe, and Crito followed him, but
he