ieves there is a divine law which the individual can perceive and understand and which stands above man-made law. We assume today that one of the elements of such law would be human freedom, as explained much later by theorists like Locke and Rousseau. Socrates refuses to compromise even in the face of death. He is defiant to the court, knowing what the outcome will be and refusing to deny the truth of his teachings or to accept the validity of the charges against him. In this, however, there is also the sense that right or wrong, a consensus is what drives society. The judges may decide wrongly that he is guilty, but this becomes an expression of community consensus. Socrates does not challenge their right to reach such a consensus, though he challenges the criteria they use and the accusa
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