Selections from Plato s. Phaedo

Transcription

1 Th Dath of Sorats, Davi, Sltions from Plato s Phao [Th Phao tlls th story of Sorats final momnts spnt, as on woul xpt, in philosophial ialogu with his frins. Th main sujt of th ialogu is th immortality of th soul. Th Phao is on of Plato s mil prio ialogus an, as suh, rvals muh of Plato s own philosophy. In th argumnts Sorats puts forth for th immortality of th soul w fin a lar xposition of oth Plato s mtaphysis as wll as his pistmology. In th first stion w fin Sorats xplaining to his frins why a tru philosophr os not far ath. Philosophy is hr sri as a prparation for ath.] ECHECRATES: Wr you thr with Sorats yourslf, Phao, whn h was xut, or i you har aout it from somoy ls? PHAEDO: No, I was thr myslf, Ehrats. ECHECRATES: Thn what i th mastr say for h i, an how i h mt his n? I shoul vry muh lik to know. Non of th popl in Phlius go to Athns muh in ths ays, an it is a long tim sin w ha any visitor from thr who oul giv us any finit information, xpt that h was xut y rinking hmlok. Nooy oul tll us anything mor than that. PHAEDO: Thn havn't you vn har how his trial wnt? 57 58

2 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 2 ECHECRATES: Ys, somon tol us aout that, an w wr surpris aus thr was oviously a long intrval twn it an th xution. How was that, Phao? PHAEDO: A fortunat oinin, Ehrats. It so happn that on th ay for th trial thy ha just finish garlaning th strn of th ship whih Athns sns to Dlos. ECHECRATES : What ship is that? PHAEDO: Th Athnians say that it is th on in whih Thsus sail away to Crt with th svn youths an svn mains, an sav thir livs an his own as wll. Th story says that th Athnians ma a vow to Apollo that if ths young popl's livs wr sav thy woul sn a solmn mission to Dlos vry yar, an vr sin thn thy hav kpt thir vow to th go, right own to th prsnt ay. Thy hav a law that as soon as this mission gins th ity must kpt pur, an no puli xutions may tak pla until th ship has rah Dlos an rturn again, whih somtims taks a long tim, if th wins happn to hol it ak. Th mission is onsir to gin as soon as th prist of Apollo has garlan th strn of th ship, an this happn, as I say, on th ay for th trial. That is why Sorats spnt suh a long tim in prison twn his trial an xution. ECHECRATES: But what aout th atual irumstans of his ath, Phao? What was sai an on, an whih of th mastr's ompanions wr with him? Or i th authoritis rfus thm amission, so that h pass away without a frin at his si? PHAEDO: Oh no, som of thm wr thr quit a numr, in fat. ECHECRATES: I wish you woul kin nough to giv us, a rally tail aount unlss you ar prss for tim. PHAEDO: No, not at all. I will try to sri it for you. Nothing givs m mor plasur than ralling th mmory of Sorats, ithr y talking myslf or y listning to somon ls. ECHECRATES: Wll, Phao, you will fin that your auin fls just th sam aout it. Now try to sri vry tail as arfully as you an. PHAEDO: In th first pla, my own flings at th tim wr quit xtraorinary. It nvr ourr to m to fl sorry for him, as you might hav xpt m to fl at th ath of a vry ar frin. Th mastr sm quit happy, Ehrats, oth in his mannr an in what h sai; h mt his ath so farlssly an noly. I oul not hlp fling that vn on his way to th othr worl h woul unr th provin of Go, an that whn h arriv thr all woul wll with him, if it vr has n so with anyoy. So I flt no sorrow at all, as you might hav xpt on suh a solmn oasion, an at th sam tim I flt no plasur at ing oupi in our usual philosophial isussions that was th form that our onvrsation took. I flt an asolutly inomprhnsil motion, a sort of urious ln of plasur an pain omin, as my min took it in that in a littl whil my frin was going to i. All of us who wr thr wr afft in muh th sam way, twn laughing an rying; on of us in partiular, Apolloorus you know what h is lik, on't you? ECHECRATES: Of ours I o. PHAEDO: Wll, h quit lost ontrol of himslf, an I an th othrs wr vry muh upst. ECHECRATES: Who wr atually thr, Phao? PHAEDO: Why, of th loal popl thr wr this man Apolloorus, an Critoulus an his fathr, an thn thr wr Hrmogns an Epigns an Ashins an Antisthns. Oh ys, an Ctsippus of Paania, an Mnxnus, an som othr loal popl. I liv that Plato was ill. ECHECRATES: Wr thr any visitors from outsi? PHAEDO: Ys, Simmias of Ths, with Cs an Phaonas, an Eulis an Trpsion from Mgara. ECHECRATES: Why, wrn't Aristippusan Clomrotus thr? PHAEDO: No, thy wr in Agina, apparntly. ECHECRATES: Was thr anyoy ls? 59

3 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 3 PHAEDO: I think that's aout all. ECHECRATES: Wll, what form i th isussion tak? PHAEDO: I will try to tll you all aout it from th vry ginning; W ha all ma it our rgular prati, vn in th prio for, to visit Sorats vry ay. W us to mt at ayrak y th ourthous whr th trial was hl, aus it was los to th prison. W always spnt som tim in onvrsation whil w wait for th oor to opn, whih was nvr vry arly; an whn it i opn, w us to go in to s Sorats, an gnrally spnt th ay with him. On this partiular ay w mt arlir than usual, aus whn w lft th prison on th vning for, w har that th oat ha just arriv ak from Dlos; so w urg on anothr to mt at th sam pla as arly as possil. Wh n w arriv, th portr, insta of ltting us in as usual, tol us to wait an not to om in until h gav us th wor. Th ommissionrs ar taking off Sorats' hains, h sai, an warning him that h is to i toay. Aftr a short intrval h am ak an tol us to go in. Whn w wnt insi w foun Sorats just rlas from his hains, an Xanthipp you knowhr! sitting y him with th littl oy on hr kn. As soon as Xanthipp saw us sh rok out into th sort of rmark you woul xpt from a woman, Oh, Sotats, this is th last tim that you an your frins will al to talk togthr! Sorats look at Crito. Crito, h sai, somon ha ttr tak hr hom. Som of Crito's srvants l hr away rying hystrially. Sorats sat up on th an rw up his lg an massag it, saying as h i so, What a qur thing it is, my frins, this snsation whih is popularly all plasur! It is rmarkal how losly it is onnt with its onvntional opposit, pain. Thy will nvr om to a man oth at on, ut if you pursu on of thm an ath it, you ar narly always ompll to hav th othr as wll; thy ar lik two ois attah to th sam ha. I am sur that if Asop ha thought of it h woul hav ma up a fal aout thm, somthing lik this Go want to stop thir ontinual quarrling; an whn h foun that it was impossil, h fastn thir has togthr; so whrvr on of thm appars, th othr is sur to follow aftr. That is xatly what sms to happning to m. I ha a pain in my lg from th fttr, an now I fl th plasur oming that follows it. Hr Cs rok in an sai, Oh ys, Sorats, I am gla you rmin m. Evnus ask m a ay or two ago, as othrs hav on for, aout th lyris whih you hav n omposing latly y aapting Asop s fals an Th Prlu to Apollo. H want to know what inu you to writ thm now aftr you ha gon to prison, whn you ha nvr on anything of th kin for. If you woul lik m to al to answr Evnus whn h asks m again as I am sur h will tll m what I am to say. Tll him th truth, sai Sorats, that I i not ompos thm to rival ithr him or his potry whih I knw woul not asy. I i it in th attmpt to isovr th maning of rtain rams, an to lar my onsin, in as this was th art whih I ha n tol to prati. It is lik this, you s. In th ours of my lif I hav oftn ha th sam ram, apparing in iffrnt forms at iffrnt tims, ut always saying th sam thing, Sorats, prati an ultivat th arts. In th past I us to think that it was implling an xhorting m to o what I was atually oing; I man that th ram, lik a sptator nouraging a runnr in a ra, was, urging m on to o what I was oing alray, that is, pratiing th arts, aus philosophy is th gratst of th arts, an I was pratiing it. But vr sin my trial, whil th fstival of th go has n laying my xution, I hav flt that prhaps it might this popular form of art that th ram intn m to prati, in whih as I ought to prati it an not isoy. 1 thought it woul safr not to tak my partur for I ha lar my onsin y writing potry an so oying th ram. I gan with som vrss in honor of th go whos fstival it was. Whn I ha finish my hymn, I rflt that a pot, if h is to worthy of th nam, ought to work on imaginativ thms, not sriptiv ons, an I was not goo at invnting storis. So I 60 61

4 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 4 avail myslf of som of Asop s fals whih wr ray to han an familiar to m, an I vrsifi th first of thm that suggst thmslvs. You an tll Evnus this, Cs, an i him farwll from m, an tll him, if h is wis, to follow m as quikly as h an. I shall going toay, it sms; thos ar my ountry s orrs. What a pi of avi for Evnus, Sorats! sai Simmias. I hav ha a goo al to o with him for now, an from what I know of him h will not at all ray to oy you. Why? h ask. Isn't Evnus a philosophr? So I liv, sai Simmias. Wll thn, h will quit willing, just lik anyon ls who is proprly groun in philosophy. Howvr, h will harly o himslf violn, aus thy say that it is not lgitimat. As h spok h lowr his ft to th groun, an sat lik this for th rst of th isussion. Cs now ask him, Sorats, what o you man y saying that it is not lgitimat to o onslf violn, although a philosophr will willing to follow a frin who is? Why, Cs, hav you an Simmias nvr har aout ths things whil you hav n with Philolaus? Nothing finit, Sorats. Wll, vn my information is only as on harsay, ut I on't min at all tlling you what I hav har. I suppos that for on who is soon to lav this worl thr is no mor suital oupation than inquiring into our viws aout th futur lif, an trying to imagin what it is lik. What ls an on o in th tim for sunst? Tll m thn, Sorats, what ar th grouns for saying that suii is not lgitimat? I hav har it sri as wrong for now, as you suggst, oth yphilolaus, whn h was staying with us, an y othrs as wll, ut I hav nvr yt har any finit xplanation for it. Wll, you must not los hart, h sai. Prhaps you will har on somay. Howvr, no out you will fl it strang that this shoul th on qustion that has an unqualifi answr I man, if it nvr happns in th as of lif an ath, as it os in all othr onntions, that somtims an for som popl ath is ttr than lif. An it proaly sms strang to you that it shoul not right for thos to whom ath woul an avantag to nfit thmslvs, ut that thy shoul hav to await th srvis of somon ls. Cs laugh gntly an, ropping into his own ialt, sai, Ay, that it os. Ys, wnt on Sorats, put in that way it rtainly might sm unrasonal, though prhaps it has som justifiation. Th allgory whih th mystis tll us that w mn ar put in a sort of guar post, from whih on must not rlas onslf or run away sms to m to a high otrin with iffiult impliations. All th sam, Cs, I liv that this muh is tru; that th gos ar our kprs, an w mn ar on of thir possssions. Don't you think so? Ys, I o, sai Cs. Thn tak your own as. If on of your possssions wr to stroy itslf without intimation from you that you want it to i, wouln't you angry with it an punish it, if you ha any mans of oing so? Crtainly. So if you look at it in this way I suppos it is not unrasonal to say that w must not put an n to ourslvs until Go sns som ompulsion lik th on whih w ar faing now. That sms likly, I amit, sai Cs. But what you wr saying just now, that philosophrs woul raily willing to i that sms illogial, Sorats, assuming that w wr right in saying a momnt ago that Go is our kpr an w ar his possssions. If this srvi is irt y th gos, who ar th vry st of mastrs, it is inxplial that th vry wisst of mn shoul not griv at quitting it, aus h surly annot xpt to provi for himslf any ttr whn h is fr. On th othr han a stupi prson might gt th ia that it woul to his avantag to sap from his mastr. H might not rason it out that on shoul not sap from 62

5 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 5 a goo mastr, ut rmain with him as long as possil, an so h might run away unrfltingly. A snsil man woul wish to rmain always with his suprior. If you look at it in this way, Sorats, th proal thing is just th opposit of what w sai just now. It is natural for th wis to griv whn thy i, an for fools to happy. Whn Sorats ha listn to this h sm to m to amus at Cs prsistn, an looking roun at us h sai, You know, Cs is always invstigating argumnts, an h is not at all willing to apt vry statmnt at its fa valu. Simmias sai, Wll, ut, Sorats, I think that this tim thr is somthing in what h says. Why shoul a rally wis man want to srt mastrs who ar ttr than himslf, an to gt ri of thm so lightly? I thinkcs is aiming his ritiism at you, aus you ar making so light of laving us, an th gos too, who as you amit ar goo mastrs. What you an Cs say is prftly fair, sai Sorats. You man, I suppos, that I must mak a formal fns against this harg. Exatly, sai Simmias. Vry wll thn, lt m try to mak a mor onvining fns to you than I ma at my trial. If I i not xpt to ntr th ompany, first, of othr wis an goo gos, an sonly of mn now a who ar ttr than thos who ar in this worl now, it is tru that I shoul wrong in not griving at ath. As it is, you an assur that I xpt to fin myslf among goo mn. I woul not insist partiularly on this point, ut on th othr I assur you that I shall insist most strongly that I shall fin thr ivin mastrs who ar suprmly goo. That is why I am not so muh istrss as I might, an why I hav a firm hop that thr is somthing in stor for thos who hav i, an, as w hav n tol for many yars, somthing muh ttr for th goo than for th wik. Wll, what is your ia, Sorats? ask Simmias. Do you man to kp this knowlg to yourslf now that you ar laving us, or will you ommuniat it to us too? I think that w ought to hav a shar in this omfort; sis, it will srv as your fns, if w ar satisfi with what you say. Vry wll, I will try, h rpli. But for I gin, Crito hr sms to hav n wanting to say somthing for som tim. Lt us fin out what it is. Only this, Sorats, sai Crito, that th man who is to giv you th poison has n asking m for a long tim to tll you to talk as littl as possil. H says that talking maks you hat, an that you ought not to o anything to afft th ation of th poison. Othrwis it is somtims nssary to tak a son os, or vn a thir. That is his affair, sai Sorats. Lt him mak his own prparations for aministring it twi or thr tims if nssary. I was prtty sur you woul say that, sai Crito, ut h's n othring m for a long tim. Nvr min him, sai Sorats. Now for you, my jury. I want to xplain to you how it sms to m natural that a man who has rally vot his lif to philosophy shoul hrful in th fa of ath, an onfint of fining th gratst lssing in th nxt worl whn his lif is finish. I will try to mak lar to you, Simmias an Cs, how this an so. Orinary popl sm not to raliz that thos who rally apply thmslvs in th right way to philosophy ar irtly an of thir own aor prparing thmslvs for ying an ath. If this is tru, an thy hav atually n looking forwar to ath all thir livs, it woul of ours asur to troul whn th thing oms for whih thy hav so long n prparing an looking forwar. Simmias laugh an sai, Upon my wor, Sorats, you hav ma m laugh, though I was not at all in th moo for it. I am sur that if thy har what you sai, most popl woul think an our fllow ountrymn woul hartily agr that it was a vry goo hit at th 63 64

6 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 6 philosophrs to say that thy ar half a alray, an that thy, th normal popl, ar quit awar that ath woul srv th philosophrs right. An thy woul quit orrt, Simmias xpt in thinking that thy ar quit awar. Thy ar not at all awar in what sns tru philosophrs ar half a, or in what sns thy srv ath, or what sort of ath thy srv. But lt us ismiss thm an talk among ourslvs. Do w liv that thr is suh a thing as ath? Most rtainly, sai Simmias, taking up th rol of answring. Is it simply th rlas of th soul from th oy? Is ath nothing mor or lss than this, th sparat onition of th oy y itslf whn it is rlas from th soul, an th sparat onition y itslf of th soul whn rlas from th oy? Is ath anything ls than this? No, just that. Wll thn, my oy, s whthr you agr with m. I fany that this will hlp us to fin out th answr to our prolm. Do you think that it is right for a philosophr to onrn himslf with th so-all plasurs onnt with foo an rink? Crtainly not, Sorats, sai Simmias. What aout sxual plasurs? No, not at all. An what aout th othr attntions that w pay to our ois? Do you think that a philosophr attahs any importan to thm? I man things lik proviing himslf with smart loths an shos an othr oily ornamnts; o you think that h valus thm or spiss thm in so far as thr is no ral nssity for him to go in for that sort of thing? I think th tru philosophr spiss thm, h sai. Thn it is your opinion in gnral that a man of this kin is not onrn with th oy, ut kps his attntion irt as muh as h an away from it an towar th soul? Ys, it is. So it is lar first of all in th as of physial plasurs that th philosophr frs his soul from assoiation with th oy, so far as is possil, to a gratr xtnt than othr mn? It sms so. An most popl think, o thy not, Simmias, that a man who fins no plasur an taks no part in ths things os not srv to liv, an that anyon who thinks nothing of physial plasurs has on foot in th grav? That is prftly tru. Now tak th aquisition of knowlg. Is th oy a hinran or not, if on taks it into partnrship to shar an invstigation? What I man is this. Is thr any rtainty in human sight an haring, or is it tru, as th pots ar always inning into our ars, that w nithr har nor s anything auratly? Yt if ths snss ar not lar an aurat, th rst an harly so, aus thy ar all infrior to th first two. Don't you agr? Crtainly. Thn whn is it that th soul attains to truth? Whn it tris to invstigat anything with th hlp of th oy, it is oviously l astray. Quit so. Is it not in th ours of rfltion, if at all, that th soul gts a lar viw of fats? Ys. Surly th soul an st rflt whn it is fr of all istrations suh as haring or sight or pain or plasur of any kin that is, whn it ignors th oy an oms as far as possil inpnnt, avoiing all physial ontats an assoiations as muh as it an, in its sarh for rality. That is so. 65

7 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 7 Thn hr too in spising th oy an avoiing it, an navoring to om inpnnt th philosophr s soul is aha of all th rst. It sms so. Hr ar som mor qustions, Simmias. Do w rogniz suh a thing as asolut uprightnss? In w o. An asolut auty an goonss too? Of ours. Hav you vr sn any of ths things with your ys? Crtainly not, sai h. Wll, hav you vr apprhn thm with any othr oily sns? By thm I man not only asolut tallnss or halth or strngth, ut th ral natur of any givn thing what it atually is. Is it through th oy that w gt th trust prption of thm? Isn't it tru that in any inquiry you ar likly to attain mor narly to knowlg of your ojt in proportion to th ar an auray with whih you hav prpar yourslf to unrstan that ojt in itslf? Crtainly. Don't you think that th prson who is likly to su in this attmpt most prftly is th on who approahs ah ojt, as far as possil, with th unai intllt, without taking aount of any sns of sight in his thinking, or ragging any othr sns into his rkoning th man who pursus th truth y applying his pur an unaultrat thought to th pur an unaultrat ojt, utting himslf off as muh as possil from his ys an ars an virtually all th rst of his oy, as an impimnt whih y its prsn prvnts th soul from attaining to truth an lar thinking? Is not this th prson, Simmias, who will rah th goal of rality, if anyoy an? What you say is asolutly tru, Sorats, sai Simmias. All ths onsirations, sai Sorats, must surly prompt srious philosophrs to rviw th position in som suh way as this. It looks as though this wr a ypath laing to th right trak. So long as w kp to th oy an our soul is ontaminat with this imprftion, thr is no han of our vr attaining satisfatorily to our ojt, whih w assrt to truth. In th first pla, th oy provis us with innumral istrations in th pursuit of our nssary sustnan, an any isass whih attak us hinr our qust for rality. Bsis, th oy fills us with lovs an sirs an fars an all sorts of fanis an a grat al of nonsns, with th rsult that w litrally nvr gt an opportunity to think at all aout anything. Wars an rvolutions an attls ar u simply an solly to th oy an its sirs. All wars ar unrtakn for th aquisition of walth, an th rason why w hav to aquir walth is th oy, aus w ar slavs in its srvi. That is why, on all ths aounts, w hav so littl tim for philosophy. Worst of all, if w o otain any lisur from th oy's laims an turn to som lin of inquiry, th oy intrus on mor into our invstigations, intrrupting, isturing, istrating, an prvnting us from gtting a glimps of th truth. W ar in fat onvin that if w ar vr to hav pur knowlg of anything, w must gt ri of th oy an ontmplat things y thmslvs with th soul y itslf. It sms, to jug from th argumnt, that th wisom whih w sir an upon whih w profss to hav st our harts will attainal only whn w ar a, an not in our liftim. If no pur knowlg is possil in th ompany of th oy, thn ithr it is totally impossil to aquir knowlg, or it is only possil aftr ath, aus it is only thn that th soul will sparat an inpnnt of th oy. It sms that so long as w ar aliv, w shall ontinu losst to knowlg if w avoi as muh as w an all ontat an assoiation with th oy, xpt whn thy ar asolutly nssary, an insta of allowing ourslvs to om inft with its natur, purify ourslvs from it until Go himslf givs us livran. In this way, y kping ourslvs unontaminat y th follis of th oy, w shall 66 67

8 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 8 proaly rah th ompany of othrs lik ourslvs an gain irt kkowlg of all that is pur an unontaminat that is, prsumaly, of truth. For on who is not pur himslf to attain to th ralm of purity woul no out a rah of univrsal justi. Somthing to this fft, Simmias, is what I imagin all ral lovrs of larning must think thmslvs an say to on anothr. Don t you agr with m? Most mphatially, Sorats. Vry wll, thn, sai Sorats, if this is tru, thr is goo rason for anyon who rahs th n of this journy whih lis for m to hop that thr, if anywhr, h will attain th ojt to whih all our fforts hav n irt uring my past lif. So this journy whih is now orain for m arris a happy prospt for any othr man also who livs that his min has n prpar y purifiation. It os in, sai Simmias. An purifiation, as w saw som tim ago in our isussion, onsists in sparating th soul as muh as possil from th oy, an austoming it to withraw from all ontat with th oy an onntrat itslf y itslf, an to hav its wlling, so far as it an, oth now an in th futur, alon y itslf, fr from th shakls of th oy. Dos not that follow? Ys, it os, sai Simmias. Is not what w all ath a fring an sparation of soul from oy? Crtainly, h sai. An th sir to fr th soul is foun hifly, or rathr only, in th tru philosophr. In fat th philosophr's oupation onsists prisly in th fring an sparation of soul from oy. Isn't that so? Apparntly. Wll thn, as I sai at th ginning, if a man has train himslf throughout his lif to liv in a stat as los as possil to ath, woul it not riiulous for him to istrss whn ath oms to him? It woul, of ours. Thn it is a fat, Simmias, that tru philosophrs mak ying thir profssion, an that to thm of all mn ath is last alarming. Look at it in this way. If thy ar thoroughly issatisfi with th oy, an long to hav thir souls inpnnt of it, whn this happns woul it not ntirly unrasonal to frightn an istrss? Woul thy not naturally gla to st out for th pla whr thr is a prospt of attaining th ojt of thir liflong sir whih is wisom an of saping from an unwlom assoiation? Surly thr ar many who hav hosn of thir own fr will to follow a lovrs an wivs an sons to th nxt worl, in th hop of sing an mting thr th prsons whom thy lov. If this is so, will a tru lovr of wisom who has firmly grasp this sam onvition that h will nvr attain to wisom worthy of th nam lswhr than in th nxt worl will h griv at ying? Will h not gla to mak that journy? W must suppos so, my ar oy, that is, if h is a ral philosophr, aus thn h will of th firm lif that h will nvr fin wisom in all its purity in any othr pla. If this is so, woul it not quit unrasonal, as I sai just now, for suh a man to afrai of ath? It woul, in. So if you s anyon istrss at th prospt of ying, sai Sorats, it will proof nough that h is a lovr not of wisom ut of th oy. As a mattr of fat, I suppos h is also a lovr of walth an rputation on or th othr, or oth.... * * * 68...

9 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 9 [This final stion piks up at th n of a story Sorats tlls aout what happns to th soul aftr ath. Th ialogu thn loss with th sn in whih Sorats rinks th hmlok an spaks his last wors.] But thos who ar jug to hav liv a lif of surpassing holinss ths ar thy who ar rlas an st fr from onfinmnt in ths rgions of th arth, an passing upwar to thir pur ao, mak thir wlling upon th arth's surfa. An of ths suh as hav purifi thmslvs suffiintly y philosophy liv thraftr altogthr without ois, an rah haitations vn mor autiful, whih it is not asy to portray nor is thr tim to o so now. But th rasons whih w hav alray sri provi groun nough, as you an s, Simmias, forlaving nothing unon to attain uring lif som masur of goonss an wisom, for th priz is glorious an th hop grat. Of ours, no rasonal man ought to insist that th fats ar xatly as I hav sri thm. But that ithr this or somthing vry lik it is a tru aount of our souls an thir futur haitations sin w hav lar vin that th soul is immortal this, I think, is oth a rasonal ontntion an a lif worth risking, for th risk is a nol on. W shoul us suh aounts to inspir ourslvs with onfin, an that is why I hav alray rawn out my tal so long. Thr is on way, thn, in whih a man an fr from all anxity aout th fat of his soul if in lif h has aanon oily plasurs an aornmnts, as forign to his purpos an likly to o mor harm than goo, an has vot himslf to th plasurs of aquiring knowlg, an so y king his soul not with a orrow auty ut with its own with slfontrol, an goonss, an ourag, an lirality an truth has fitt himslf to await his journy in th nxt worl. You, Simmias an Cs an th rst, will ah mak this journy somayin thfutur, ut for m th fat hour, as a tragi haratr might say, alls vn now. In othr wors, it is aout tim that I took my ath. I prfr to hav a ath for rinking th poison, rathr than giv th womn th troull of washing m whn I am a. Whn h ha finish spaking, Crito sai, Vry wll, Sorats. But hav you no irtions for th othrs or myslf aout your hilrn or anything ls? What an w o to plas you st? Nothing nw, Crito, sai Sorats, just what I am always tlling you. If you look aftr yourslvs, whatvr you o will plas m an min an you too, vn if you on't agr with m now. On th othr han, if you nglt yourslvs an fail to follow th lin of lif as I hav lai it own oth now an in th past, howvr frvntly you agr with m now, it will o no goo at all. W shall try our st to o as you say, sai Crito. But how shall w ury you? Any way you lik, rpli Sorats, that is, if you an ath m an I on t slip through your fingrs. H laugh gntly as h spok, an turning to us wnt on, I an't prsua Crito that I am this Sorats hr who is talking to you now an marshaling all th argumnts. H thinks that I am th on whom h will s prsntly lying a, an h asks how h is to ury m! As for my long an laorat xplanation that whn I hav runk th poison I shall rmain with you no longr, ut part to a stat of havnly happinss, this attmpt to onsol oth you an myslf sms to wast on him. You must giv an assuran to Crito for m th opposit of th on whih h gav to th ourt whih tri m. H unrtook that I shoul stay, ut you must assur him that whn I am a I shall not stay, ut part an gon. That will hlp Crito to ar it mor asily, an kp him from ing istrss on my aount whn h ss my oy ing urn or uri, as if somthing raful wr happning to m, or from saying at th funralthat it is Sorats whom h is laying out or arrying to th grav or urying. Bliv m, my ar frin Crito, misstatmnts ar not mrly jarring in thir immiat ontxt; thy also hav a a fft upon

10 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 10 th soul. No, you must kp up your spirits an say that it is only my oy that you ar urying, an you an ury it as you plas, in whatvr way you think is most propr. With ths wors h got up an wnt into anothr room to ath, an Crito wnt aftr him, ut tol us to wait. So w wait, isussing an rviwing what ha n sai, or ls wlling upon th gratnss of th alamity whih ha falln us, for w flt just as though w wr losing a fathr an shoul orphans for th rst of our livs. Manwhil, whn Sorats ha takn his ath, his hilrn wr rought to s him h ha two littl sons an on ig oy an th womn of his houshol, you know, arriv. H talk to thm in Crito's prsn an gav thm irtions aout arrying out his wishs. Thn h tol th womn an hilrn to go away, an am ak himslf to join us. It was now narly sunst, aus h ha spnt a long tim insi. H am an sat own, frsh from th ath, an h ha only n talking for a fw minuts whn th prison offir am in, an walk up to him. Sorats, h sai, at any rat I shall not hav to fin fault with you, as I o with othrs, for gtting angry with m an urrsing whn I tll thm to rink th poison arrying out govrnmnt orrs. I hav om to know uring this tim that you ar th nolst an th gntlst an th ravst of all th mn that hav vr om hr, an now spially I am sur that you ar not angry with m, ut with thm, aus you know who ar rsponsil. So now you know what I hav om to say goo-y, an try to ar what must as asily as you an. As h spok h urst into tars, an turning roun, wnt away. Sorats look up at him an sai, Goo-y to you, too. W will o as you say. Thn arssing us h wnt on, What a harming prson! All th tim I hav n hr h has visit m, an somtims ha isussions with m, an shown m th gratst kinnss an how gnrous of him now to sh tars for m at parting! But om, Crito, lt us o as h says. Somon ha ttr ring in th poison, if it is ray-prpar; if not, tll th man to prpar it. But surly, Sorats, sai Crito, th sun is still upon th mountains; it has not gon own yt. Bsis, I know that in othr ass popl hav innr an njoy thir win, an somtim th ompany of thos whom thy lov, long aftr thy riv th warning, an only rink th poison quit lat at night. No n to hurry. Thr is still plnty of tim. It is natural that ths popl whom you spak of shoul at in that way, Crito, sai Sorats, aus thy think that thy gain y it. An it is also natural that I shoul not, aus I liv that I shoul gain nothing y rinking th poison a littl latr I shoul only mak myslf riiulous in my own ys if I lung to lif an hugg it whn it has no mor to offr. Com, o as I say an on't mak iffiultis. At this Crito ma a sign to his srvant, who was staning nar y. Th srvant wnt out an aftr spning a onsiral tim rturn with th man who was to aministr th poison. H was arrying it ray-prpar in a up. Whn Sorats saw him h sai, Wll, my goo fllow, you unrstan ths things. What ought I to o? Just rink it, h sai, an thn walk aout until you fl a wight in your lgs, an thn li own. Thn it will at of its own aor. As h spok h han th up to Sorats, who riv it quit hrfully, Ehrats, without a trmor, without any hang of olor or xprssion, an sai, looking up unr his rows with his usual stay gaz, What o you say aout pouring a liation from this rink? Is it prmitt, or not? W only prpar what w rgar as th normal os, Sorats, h rpli. I s, sai Sorats. But I suppos I am allow, or rathr oun, to pray th gos that my rmoval from this worl to th othr may prosprous. This is my prayr, thn, an I hop that it may grant

11 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 11 With ths wors, quit almly an with no sign of istast, h rain th up in on rath. Up till this tim most of us ha n fairly sussful in kping ak our tars, ut whn w saw that h was rinking, that h ha atually runk it, w oul o so no longr. In spit of myslf th tars am pouring out, so that I ovr my fa an wpt roknhartly not for him, ut for my own alamity in losing suh a frin. Crito ha givn up vn for m, an ha gon out whn h oul not rstrain his tars. But Apolloorus, who ha nvr stopp rying vn for, now rok out into suh a storm of passionat wping that h ma vryon in th room rak own, xpt Sorats himslf, who sai, Rally, my frins, what a way to hav! Why, that was my main rason for sning away th womn, to prvnt this sort of isturan, aus I am tol that on shoul mak on's n in a tranquil fram of min. Calm yourslvs an try to rav. This ma us fl asham, an w ontroll our tars. Sorats walk aout, an prsntly, saying that his lgs wr havy, lay own on his ak that was what th man rommn. Th man h was th sam on who ha aministr th poison kpt his han upon Sorats, an aftr a littl whil xamin his ft an lgs, thn pinh his foot har an ask if h flt it. Sorats sai no. Thn h i th sam to his lgs, an moving graually upwar in this way lt us s that h was gtting ol an num. Prsntly h flt him again an sai that whn it rah th hart, Sorats woul gon. Th olnss was spraing aout as far as his waist whn Sorats unovr his fa, for h ha ovr it up, an sai thy wr his last wors Crito, w ought to offr a ok to 1 Aslpius. S to it, an on't forgt. No, it shall on, sai Crito. Ar you sur that thr is nothing ls? Sorats ma no rply to this qustion, ut aftr a littl whil h stirr, an whn th man unovr him, his ys wr fix. Whn Crito saw this, h los th mouth an ys. Suh, Ehrats, was th n of our omra, who was, w may fairly say, of all thos whom w knw in our tim, th ravst an also th wisst an most upright man Aslpius is th go of haling. Plato. Phao in Th Last Days of Sorats, trans. Hugh Trnnik. Harmonsworth, Milsx: Pnguin Classis, 1954.

12 Introution to Philosophy Th Phao 12 QUESTIONS 1. Why os Sorats think that ath is a rwar for th philosophr? If ath is suh a wonrful thing why os Sorats say that suii is not lgitimat? 2. Aoring to Sorats how os th prati of philosophy prpar on for ath? What o w larn aout Plato s pistmology from Sorats argumnt that philosophy is a prparation for ath? Is tru knowlg vr possil aoring to Sorats? 3. What o w larn aout Plato s mtaphysis his Thory of Forms from Sorats argumnts that ath is a rwar for th philosophr an that th soul is immortal? What is th ral natur of any givn things aoring to Sorats? 4. What os Sorats man y saying that larning is rolltion? How os h om to this viw? How os this thory of rolltion also rval Plato s mtaphysis an pistmology? 5. What ar th iffrns twn th soul an th oy aoring to Sorats? How os h sri th rlationship twn th soul an th oy? 6. What is th maning of Sorats' last wors? How might ths last wors sum up th whol of Plato s philosophy?