He was a philosopher. He was 70 years old, baldheaded, with an absurd
pug nose and an unkempt beard. He wore nothing but a cloak — no shoes,
no shirt; no underwear. He had the merriest of dispositions, no one had
ever seen him angry or unkind. He was very brave: he had served as a
foot soldier in four battles. He was a philosopher. He did nothing but
talk — talk to anyone who would listen to him, in the streets and
marketplaces, discussing philosophy with students or sailors, or
tradesmen, questioning men about what they believed in and why, always
why – and how they could prove it. He met every answer with a new
question, and each answer after that with another question.
Some Athenians called him a dangerous idler' who did nothing but
engage "in irony and jest on mankind." The Oracle at Delphi had called
him the wisest man alive, but Socrates, with his cool skepticism, said
that his wisdom lay only in this: that unlike other men, he knew how
great was his ignorance . He refused to accept a penny for teaching.
Indeed, he was sure he could never teach anyone anything; he said he
tried to teach men how to think. His enemies hated him. They said he
made young minds doubt, if not mock everything, and it was undermining
respect for democracy itself . How did he defend himself? "I shall not
change my conduct even if I must die a hundred deaths. Death does not
matter, what matters is that I should do no wrong," he said. They voted
him guilty. The prosecutor demanded the death penalty. Under the law of
Athens it was now for the defendant to propose an alternative. Socrates
could suggest that he be exiled, but he did not. His friends wanted to
smuggle him out of prison but he refused to escape. When his wife
Xantippe broke into hysterics in the death cell, he sent her and his
sons away. He spent his last hours discussing the problems that had
always intrigued him: good and evil. His mind was never idle. When his
disciples saw him drink the cup of poison with dignity they wept.
The man is gone but the "Socratic" method of questioning and
teaching has always been respected since then.
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