argument+1

Socrates claims that "the virtues are a kind of knowledge.", which supports his thought that once the truly good is recognized, the knowledge will be used to act accordingly. Socrates supports his claim in the story of his death when the jailer points out that Socrates is noble and he will accept his duty, but will also accept the blame from Socrates' angry followers. The jailer directly tells Socrates, " To you, Socrates, whom I know to be the noblest and gentlest and best of all who ever came to this place, I will not impute the angry feelings of other men, who rage and swear at me, when, in obedience to the authorities..." Even though it is not the jailer's will to poison Socrates, it is his duty to obey the authorities. Unforturnately for the jailer, his task will gain him a lot of blame from Socrates' followers. Once the jailer realizes he has no position to disobey the authorities, he must accept the facts and and do what is best with the existing circumstances.

The jailer first arrives at the knowledge that Socrates' death is inevitable and with that knowledge he helps Socrates realize his fate. The jailer, with his good-willed spirit realized that he could not prevent Socrates' death and as a result he decides to make Socrates' death as smooth as possible. "How charming the man is; since I have been in prison he has always been coming to see me, and at times he would talk to me, and was as good to me as could be, and now see how generously he sorrows on my account." says Socrates to Crito. Socrates realizes that his fate is definite and the best action to take is to "...let the cup be brought...".



Works Cited: 1. Plato. __The Death of Socrates.__ 2. "Jaques-Louis David: The Death of Socrates." __Neo-Classicism and French Revolution.__ 27 Nov. 2006. Boston College. 8 Dec. 2007. .

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