gained an acquittal. Not so; the deficiency which led to my conviction
was not of words--certainly not. But I had not the boldness or impudence
or inclination to address you as you would have liked me to address you,
weeping and wailing and lamenting, and saying and doing many things
which you have been accustomed to hear from others, and which, as I say,
are unworthy of me. But I thought that I ought not to do anything common
or mean in the hour of danger: nor do I now repent of the manner of my
defense, and I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than
speak in your manner and live. For neither in war nor yet at law ought
any man to use every way of escaping death. For often in battle there is
no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees
before his pursuers, he may escape death; and in other dangers there
are other ways of escaping death, if a man is willing to say and do
anything. The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in
avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death. I am old and
move slowly, and the slower runner has overtaken me, and my accusers are
keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is unrighteousness, has
overtaken them. And now I depart hence, condemned by you to suffer the
penalty of death, and they too go their ways, condemned by the truth to
suffer the penalty of villainy and wrong; and I must abide by my
award--let them abide by theirs. I suppose that these things may be
regarded as fated,--and I think that they are well.

And now, O men who have condemned me, I would fain prophesy to you; for
I am about to die, and that is the hour in which men are gifted with
prophetic power. And I prophesy to you who are my murderers, that
immediately after my death punishment far heavier than you have
inflicted on me will surely await you. Me you have killed because you
wanted to escape the accuser, and not to give an account of your lives.
But that will not be as you suppose: far otherwise. For I say that there
will be more accusers of you than there are now; accusers whom hitherto
I have restrained: and as they are younger they will be more severe with
you, and you will be more offended at them. For if you think that by
killing men you can avoid the accuser censuring your lives, you are
mistaken; that is not a way of escape which is either possible or
honorable; the easiest and the noblest way is not to be crushing others,
but to be improving you