The Last Afternoon

The friends of Socrates have been coming to the prison every day since the trial. Today is different. When they arrive, Socrates’ wife and young son are already there. She says what everyone is thinking.

The group arrived at the prison early on the last day. They had been coming every morning, but this time felt different from the moment they walked in.

Socrates was sitting up, rubbing his leg where the chains had just been removed. His wife Xanthippe was beside him, holding their youngest child.

When she saw the friends arrive, she said: “Socrates, this is the last time your friends will talk with you and you with them.”

Socrates looked at Crito. “Someone should take her home. She needs to be with people who can comfort her.”

After she left, the friends sat down. The room was quiet. No one knew how to begin.

One of them finally asked: “How are you so calm right now?”

“What would be the point of being otherwise?” Socrates said. “I have had seventy years to think about this. If I have not managed to make peace with it by now, I am not going to manage it today.”

“But you are about to die.”

“Yes,” Socrates said. “Let us talk about that.”