A figure in relievo of a man sitting with a bowl in his hand, which
has been thought a Socrates. And indeed the features of the face
bear a striking resemblance to those of that sage expressed in
ancient monuments; as the bowl might properly refer to the well-known
circumstance of his death. But the other insignia are not so suitable
to the character of the subject, as one could wish: for he holds,
partly in his hand, and partly under his arm, a short staff full of
knots, and curved at the end like a shepherd’s crook, such as we find
borne by satyrs in some Bacchanalian pieces: and the skin of a beast
appears hanging from the seat of his chair.