down the scale in which it is.

How strange then that Socrates should have been so treated by the
Athenians. Slave, why do you say Socrates? Speak of the thing as it is:
how strange that the poor body of Socrates should have been carried off
and dragged to prison by stronger men, and that anyone should have given
hemlock to the poor body of Socrates, and that it should breathe out the
life. Do these things seem strange, do they seem unjust, do you on
account of these things blame God? Had Socrates then no equivalent for
these things? Where then for him was the nature of good? Whom shall we
listen to, you or him? And what does Socrates say? "Anytus and Melitus
can kill me, but they cannot hurt me." And further, he says, "If it so
pleases God, so let it be."

But show me that he who has the inferior principles overpowers him who
is superior in principles. You will never show this, nor come near
showing it; for this is the law of nature and of God that the superior
shall always overpower the inferior. In what? In that in which it is
superior. One body is stronger than another: many are stronger than one:
the thief is stronger than he who is not a thief. This is the reason why
I also lost my lamp, because in wakefulness the thief was superior to
me. But the man bought the lamp at this price: for a lamp he became a
thief, a faithless fellow, and like a wild beast. This seemed to him a
good bargain. Be it so. But a man has seized me by the cloak, and is
drawing me to the public place: then others bawl out, Philosopher, what
has been the use of your opinions? see, you are dragged to prison, you
are going to be beheaded. And what system of philosophy ([Greek:
eisagogaen)] could I have made so that, if a stronger man should have
laid hold of my cloak, I should not be dragged off; that if ten men
should have laid hold of me and cast me into prison, I should not be