February 15

Socrates is considered by many to be one of the wisest of the ancients. He considered himself wise, however, simply because he knew that he knew nothing, as opposed to his contemporaries who while considering themselves to be wise actually knew very little. For all practical purposes, a person who is aware of the fact that he or she knows nothing does give that person a slight edge over the teeming masses. Which is why it is really rather unfortunate that Socrates, after having been convicted and sentenced to death for his unwavering opposition to the democratic regime he lived under, chose to drink a lethal dose of hemlock instead of escaping. He did this on the 15th in 399 b.c.e.