death of socrates, n.All

The Death of Socrates (n.) was, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠told honestly, the arrest and poisoning of his poor body — say 'his body grew cold', not 'Socrates suffered'.

The Death of Socrates (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠be conceived by poetry: he does not suffer like a martyr — he had already conceived the drollery of such an oddity being executed — yet poetry cannot make him comic, for he who has thought of all the comic in his situation is not comic.