Such  was  Socrates  to  those  who  knew  him  best,  in  his  comic
exterior  and  in  his  grand  and  noble  soul.  He  kept  aloof  fr^m
politics,  because  he  would  not  bend  himself  to  the  base  com-
_  liances  by  which  he  saw  the  demagogues  yield  to  the  lowe.^


TRIAL   OF   SOCRATES.  197

and  fiercest  passions  of  the  mob ;  and  he  freely  censured  the
defective  principles  and  the  corrupting  influences  of  that  de-
scription of  public  life.  But  he  discharged  the  duties  which
his  country's  laws  laid  upon  him,  in  war  and  in  peace,  bravely
and  magnanimously.  He  served  in  the  army,  and  excited  the
wonder  of  the  common  soldiers  by  his  power  of  hardy  endur-
ance. He  served  in  the  assembly,  and  with  a  still  braver  spirit
faced  the  roaring  multitude  who  clamored  unjustly  for  blood.
After  the  battle  of  Arginusae,  a  complaint  was  made  against
the  generals,  that  they  had  neglected  to  collect  the  bodies  of
the  dead  that  were  floating  on  the  stormy  sea.  Such  a  neglect
touched  the  Hellenic  sentiment  to  the  quick ;  the  friends  of
the  fallen  called  for  vengeance  ;  and  the  generals  were  brought
to  trial  before  the  assembled  people.  Though  their  guilt  was
not  clear,  the  passions  of  the  moment  were  roused  to  fury  and
demanded  their  sacrifice.  Socrates  happened  to  be  the  pre-
siding officer  on  that  day;  and  seeing  that  a  judicial  murder
would  be  perpetrated,  if  the  question  were  decided,  he  re-
fused, in  spite  of  the  menaces  of  the  mob,  to  put  the  vote.
The  meeting  was  adjourned  till  the  next  day,  when  a  more
pliant  president  occupied  the  place,  and  the  generals  were
yielded  to  the  still  unabated  storm  of  popular  fury.
