To Those Who Voted to Acquit Him

Socrates now turns to the 221 who voted for his acquittal. What he says to them is one of the most remarkable meditations on death in all of human thought.

To those of you who voted for me, I want to share something while there is still time.

You know the inner voice I have spoken about. The divine sign that has guided me my whole life. It stops me when I am about to make a mistake. It has been reliably present my entire life, sometimes stopping me in the middle of a sentence.

Today it was silent. Not once did it stop me. Not when I was preparing. Not while I was speaking. Not at any moment during this trial.

I think that means something. I think it means what is happening to me today is not a bad thing.

Let me explain my thinking on death.

There are really only two possibilities. Either death is the end of everything, like a dreamless sleep, or it is a passage to somewhere else.

If death is like dreamless sleep, that is not terrible. Think of the deepest, most restful sleep you have ever had. No dreams, no disturbances, just pure rest. If you could trade many of your difficult days for a sleep like that, most of us would. Eternal rest, compared to the troubles of being alive, does not sound so bad.

If death is a journey to another place, where everyone who has ever died now lives, then I am genuinely curious to go. Think of who might be there. Homer. Hesiod. The great heroes of ancient times. The real judges, not the political ones. People who see you clearly and judge you on what you actually are.

Most interesting to me would be the people who were condemned unjustly in their own time. We would have a lot to talk about. In that other world, they say, no one gets executed for asking questions.

I am not claiming to know which of these is true. I do not know. When I think through both options, neither one seems terrible. The fear of death comes from treating something unknown as though it were certainly bad. That is the same kind of false certainty I have spent my life opposing.

What I do know is this: no real harm comes to a good person, in this life or after it. I have tried to be a good person. I am not afraid of what comes next.

One last request. When my sons are grown, hold them to the same standard you held me to. If they care more about money or reputation than about being genuinely good, call them out on it. Do not let them become comfortable. That is the most useful thing you could ever do for them.

The time has come to part. I go to die. You go to live. Which of us goes to the better fate is known only to god.