Stoicism - College of Stoic Philosophers

THE CRITICS AND ENEMIES OF STOICISM. 103At last the expected letter came, but Thrasea hadnothing to retract or to excuse he; simply asked toknow what were the charges laid against him, and hewould then prove that he was not guilty of disloyaltyin word or deed. The emperor would wait nolonger now the bloodhounds were let loose; uponhim in the senate, and the cringing house was madeto sentence him to death, leaving him only the poorprivilege of choosing the means and form of execution.The description which Tacitus has left us of thelast hours which he spent on earth is one of themost striking of the great historian's pages. We seehim walking in his garden while a company of histrue-hearted friends, among the noblest of Rome'sworthies, was gathering round him and his doomwas still uncertain. At last the fatal message came,as he was talking with the sage Demetrius of thenature of the soul and its relations to its earthlyhome ;he calmly bade his friends withdraw that theymight, if possible, escape his fate ; Arria, his wife, waseager, like her mother, to share her husband's death,but he begged her to live on to watch over their only:daughter and when he heard that his son-in-lawHelvidius was not condemned to die with him heseemed to forget himself entirely in his pleasure atthe tidings. The young quaestor who brought thewarrant for his death was standing by, and Thraseasaid to him with kindly air that he hopedhis turnto suffer would not come, but in such evil days itwas well to be prepared, and to learn how quietly