In Plato's account of Socrates' death, The Apology, the Greek philosopher and gadfly explains to his disciples why and how it is possible that he is able to accept his sentence of death without fear or regret. The main point of Socrates' position is that he prefers death to abandoning his principles, by which he means the right to speak and act freely and according to his beliefs. Socrates is not entirely idealistic or irrational in his preference for death; he admits that he is old, has no irreplaceable attachments or obligations, and has accomplished most of what he set out to do in life. But at the same time he offers compelling reasons why he should follow his beliefs rather than obey his instinct of self-preservation: 1) "he would never yield to anyone, contrary to right, for fear of death, but rather... be read for to die immediately; 2) he does not think it right to "beg the judge, or be acquitted by pleading; one must educate and persuade him" (Plato, 1956:441); and finally 3) death is only a "migration from this world to another place", and is mostly probably a good thing that should be welcomed as a blessing. Against these In his arguments, Socrates sees only the vain hope of preserving his life among the likes of his judges, or of fleeing ignominiously to some other land, losing his only home, his friends, and the respect of those who admire the strength of his principles, I will examine Socrates' decision to accept death rather than abandon his principles, and show why it is better to live and die according to one's beliefs, rather than take the easy way out obviously a proud man, and when he declares that he will never yield to anyone for the sake of h......middle of paper......and uses Socratic inquiry to show the weakness of arguments that appear strong and infallible demolished the routine ideas of justice, proposed ideas for a state governed by a philosopher king and a group of elite intellectual guardians, and attacked rhetoricians and sophists for their false use of Homer and the teachings of the ancients. And since his teachings encouraged others to do the same, especially young people of impressionable age and character, he is probably guilty of this interpretation of the "corruption of youth" charge. Works Cited Brickhouse, Thomas and Smith, Nichol. Socrates on trial. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990. Plato. Apologies. In Plato's Great Dialogues, translated by W. H. D. Rouse. New York: New American Library, 1956. Taylor. AE Socrates the man. Connecticut: Greenwood Press,1951.