It seems to me fitting to hand down to memory,
 furthermore, how Socrates , on being
 indicted, deliberated on his defence and on his end. It is true that others have
 written about this, and that all of them have reproduced the loftiness of his
 words,—a fact which proves that his utterance really was of the character
 intimated;—but they have not shown clearly that he had now come to the
 conclusion that for him death was more to be desired than life; and hence his
 lofty utterance appears rather ill-considered. Hermogenes, the son of Hipponicus, however, was a companion of his and has given
 us reports of such a nature as to show that the sublimity of his speech was
 appropriate to the resolve he had made. For he stated that on seeing
 Socrates discussing any and
 every subject rather than the trial, he had said: Socrates , ought you not to be giving
 some thought to what defence you are going to make? That
 Socrates had at first replied,
 Why, do I not seem to you to have spent my whole life in preparing to defend
 myself? Then when he asked, How so? he had said, Because all my life I have
 been guiltless of wrong-doing; and that I consider the finest preparation for a
 defence. Then when Hermogenes again asked, Do you not observe that the Athenian courts have often been carried away by an
 eloquent speech and have condemned innocent men to death, and often on the other
 hand the guilty have been acquitted either because their plea aroused compassion
 or because their speech was witty? Yes, indeed! he had answered; and I have
 tried twice already to meditate on my defence, but my divine sign interposes. 
 And when Hermogenes observed, That is a surprising statement, he had replied,
 Do you think it surprising that even God holds it better for me to die now? Do
 you not know that I would refuse to concede that any man has lived a better life
 than I have up to now? For I have realized that my whole life has been spent in
 righteousness toward God and man,—a fact that affords the greatest satisfaction;
 and so I have felt a deep self-respect and have discovered that my associates
 hold corresponding sentiments toward me.