Plato's Crito

Read Crito, which is an account of Socrates' explanation for accepting the death sentence for his alleged crimes rather than confessing and taking a lesser sentence. He tells his friend Crito that, although he has been falsely convicted, he would rather accept the punishment because it will uphold the rule of law in Athens. He prefers to die rather than live outside of the law or in a fashion that would undermine the law. The form of Plato's account – a series of dialogues among friends – is important to Plato's thought.