On this date in 399 BC ...

... the Athenian gadfly Socrates was sentenced to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens." I firmly believe that Socrates was guilty as charged, but also believe that the elders of Athens had no understanding of the nature of this corruption. Socrates was -- and remains -- a much more dangerous man than they could have imagined. I shall have a lot to say going forward about this man. For starters, I accuse Socrates of hating life more than any human being before or since. For this crime alone, he deserved the hemlock.