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Section 39

For the sake of a short amount of time, men of Athens, you will gain the reputation and the blame, from those who want to revile the city, of having killed Socrates, a wise man. For those who want to reproach you will say I am wise, even if I am not. If you had waited just a little while, this would have happened on its own. For you see my age, that it is far advanced in life and close to death. I say this not to all of you, but to those who voted to condemn me to death. And I have something else to say to these same men. Perhaps you think, men of Athens, that I was convicted because of a lack of words to persuade you, if I had thought it right to do and say everything to escape the penalty. Far from it. I was convicted for a lack, but not of words. Rather, a lack of boldness and shamelessness, and an unwillingness to say the things you find most pleasant to hear: wailing and lamenting, and doing and saying many other things unworthy of me, which you are accustomed to hearing from others. But I did not think then that I should do anything unworthy of a free man because of the danger, nor do I now regret making my defense the way I did. I much prefer to die after defending myself in that way, than to live by defending myself in yours. Neither in a law court nor in war should I or anyone else contrive a way to escape death at any cost. In battles, it is often clear that a man might escape death by throwing down his weapons and turning to supplicate his pursuers. And there are many other ways to escape death in dangers, if a man dares to do and say anything. The difficult thing, gentlemen, is not escaping death; escaping wickedness is much more difficult, for it runs faster than death. And now I, being slow and old, have been caught by the slower runner; while my accusers, being clever and quick, have been caught by the faster runner: wickedness. And now I depart, condemned by you to suffer the penalty of death, while they depart, condemned by truth to suffer wickedness and injustice. I abide by my penalty, and they by theirs. Perhaps these things had to happen this way, and I think it is for the best.