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Death Of Socrates In The Apology

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After Socrates is condemned to death, he makes his final statements to the jury at the end of “The Apology”. This portion of the text clearly expresses his deeply held believes and seemed the most honest to me, as he was no longer reciting his defense in court but had already acknowledged and accepted his fate. Paragraph 39a eloquently describes why Socrates valued just action over his own life. He claims that if someone is “shameless enough” to defy their own principles, avoiding death is easily accomplished. The more difficult struggle that plagues us is “escaping villainy”, which he has completed by facing his punishment. His false accusers, on the other hand, have succumbed to unjust desires and lashed out by convicting the innocent Socrates. He goes on to warn them …show more content…

Socrates is the perfect example of a martyr because he did not only risk his life in support of a cause he believes in, but welcomed his own death rather than straying from his principles. The death of Socrates has strong parallels to that of Ninoy Aquino. From 1965 to 1986, Ferdinand Marcos served as dictator of the Philippines, frivolously spending money on useless projects and stealing billions from the state while its people lived in extreme poverty. Aquino was the leader of the opposing party and publicly condemned Marcos and his wife Imelda’s selfish and irresponsible actions. After Marcos imposed martial law, Aquino was imprisoned for seven years. He was later allowed to fly to the United States for medical treatment if he promised to return but instead stayed for three years. This act of defiance contrasts with Socrates’s vow to always act justly, but Aquino believed that he owed no loyalty to Marcos, as “a pact with the devil is no pact at all”. Upon returning to his home, Aquino was assassinated while disembarking his plane in Manila.

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