r because he never cared for the material objects and rewards most people cared about (61). Rather, he set himself to the task of his activity in a manner he believed would yield the greatest possible service: "I tried to persuade each one of you not to think more of practical advantages than of his mental and moral well-being; or in general to think more of advantage than of well-being, in the case of the state or of anything else" (61). Thus, Socrates did not avoid public life because he feared death; he chose public life because it would provide the most effective arena for the examination of goodness and justice.
While Socrates's views on death and life may sometimes appear contradictory, in fact one central tenet underlies them all: An examined life lived according to goodness and justice is the only true life. Death is not a consideration. In response to the question Socrates poses to himself about whether he feels compunction at having pursued an activity that put him in danger of the death penalt
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