But no evidence indicates any procedural impropriety. Crito also criticises ‘the handling of the trial itself’ ( Crito 45e), alluding to an improper procedure. Informers can be bought off easily thus ensuring a successful escape ( Crito 44e), while several places, like Thessaly, will welcome Socrates and let him spend the rest of his days freely, presumably philosophising ( Crito 45c. Crito next assuages Socrates’ possible fears about his escape. His family will suffer because of his death ( Crito 45d). In refusing to leave, Socrates also betrays his parental duties. Socrates’ choice to accept death would therefore tarnish their reputation ( Crito 44c). His friends may face scorn from Athenians for failing to assist a friend wrongly sentenced to die. The dialogue begins with the eponymous character lamenting the consequences Socrates’ death will have for those closest to him. Plato’s Crito portrays his last-ditch effort to persuade Socrates to escape execution. Footnote 1 His disciple, Crito, visits him in jail. Unjustly charged with corrupting Athenian youth, introducing new deities, and rejecting Athens’s ancestral gods, Socrates is convicted by a jury of his peers and sentenced to death ( Apology 24b).
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