Notes and Comments on Phaedo -- 42

6 September 2023

Notes and Comments on Phaedo – 42

Continuing with my series on Phaedo; I am using the Harold North Fowler translation published by the Loeb Classical Library

“When he had had finished speaking, Crito said: ‘Well, Socrates, do you wish to leave any directions with us about your children or anything else – anything we can do to serve you?’

“’What I always say, Crito,’ he replied, ‘nothing new.  If you take care of yourselves you will serve me and mine and yourselves, whatever you do, even if you make no promises now; but if you neglect yourselves and are not willing to live following step by step, as it were, in the path marked out by our present and past discussions, you will accomplish nothing, no matter how much or how eagerly you promise at present.’

“’We will certainly try hard to do as you say,’ he replied.  ‘But how shall we bury you?’

“’However you please,’ he replied, ‘if you can catch me and I do not get away from you.’  And he laughed gently and looking towards us, said: ‘I cannot persuade Crito, my friends, that the Socrates who is now conversing and arranging the details of his argument is really I; he thinks I am the one whom he will presently see as a corpse, and he asks how to bury me.  And though I have been saying at great length that after I drink the poison I shall no longer be with you, but shall go away to the joys of the blessed you know of, he seems to think that was idle talk uttered to encourage you and myself.  So,’ he said, ‘give security for me to Crito, the opposite of that which he gave the judges at my trial; for he gave security that I would remain, but you must give security that I shall not remain when I die, but shall go away, so that Crito may bear it more easily, and may not be troubled when he sees my body being burnt or buried, or think I am undergoing terrible treatment, and may not say at the funeral that he is laying out Socrates, or following him to the grave, or burying him.  For, dear Crito, you may be sure that such wrong words are not only undesirable in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.  No, you must be of good courage, and say that you bury my body, -- and bury it as you think best and as seems to you most fitting.’

“When he had said this, he got up and went into another room to bathe; Crito followed him, but he told us to wait.  So we waited, talking over with each other and discussing the discourse we had heard, and then speaking of the great misfortune that had befallen us, for we felt that he was like a father to us and that when bereft of him we should pass the rest of our lives as orphans.  And when he had bathed and his children had been brought to him – for he had two little sons and one big one – and the women of the family had come, he talked with them in Crito’s presence and gave them such directions as he wished; then he told the women to go away, and he came to us.  And it was now nearly sunset; for he had spent a long time within.  And he came and sat down fresh from the bath.’ 

“’After that not much was said, and the servant of the eleven came and stood beside him and said: ‘Socrates, I shall not find fault with you, as I do with others, for being angry and cursing me, when at the behest of the authorities, I tell them to drink the poison.  No, I have found you in all this time in every way the noblest and gentlest and best man who has ever come here, and now I know your anger is directed against others, not against me, for you know who are to blame.  Now, for you know the message I came to bring you, farewell and try to bear what you must as easily as you can.’  And he burst into tears and turned and went away.  And Socrates looked up at him and said: ‘Fare you well, too; I will do as you say.’  And then he said to us: ‘How charming the man is!  Ever since I have been here he has been coming to see me and talking with me from time to time, and has been the best of men, and now how nobly he weeps for me!  But come, Crito, let us obey him, and let someone bring the poison, if it is ready; and if not, let the man prepare it.’  And Crito said: ‘But I think, Socrates, the sun is still upon the mountains and has not yet set; and I know that others have taken the poison very late, after the order has come to them, and in the meantime have eaten and drunk and some of them enjoyed the society of those whom they loved.  Do not hurry; for there is still time.’

“And Socrates said: ‘Crito, those whom you mention are right in doing as they do, for they think they gain by it; and I shall be right in not doing as they do; for I think I should gain nothing by taking the poison a little later.  I should only make myself ridiculous in my own eyes if I clung to life and spared it, when there is no more profit in it.  Come,’ said he, ‘do as I ask and do not refuse.’

“Thereupon Crito nodded to the boy who was standing near.  The boy went out and stayed a long time, then came back with the man who was to administer the poison, which he brought with him in a cup ready for use.  And when Socrates saw him, he said: ‘Well, my good man, you know about these things; what must I do?’  ‘Nothing,’ he replied, ‘except drink the poison and walk about till your legs feel heavy; then lie down, and the poison will take effect of itself.’

"At the same time he held out the cup to Socrates.  He took it, and very gently, Echecrates, without trembling or changing color or expression, but looking up at the man with wide open eyes, as was his custom, said: ‘What do you say about pouring a libation to some deity from this cup?  May I, or not?’  ‘Socrates,’ said he, ‘we prepare only as much as we think is enough.’  ‘I understand,’ said Socrates; ‘but I may and must pray to the gods that my departure hence be a fortunate one; so I offer this prayer, and may it be granted.’  With these words he raised the cup to his lips and very cheerfully and quietly drained it.  Up to that time most of us had been able to restrain our tears fairly well, but when we watched him drinking and saw that he had drunk the poison, we could do so no longer, but in spite of myself my tears rolled down in floods, so that I wrapped my face in my cloak and wept for myself; for it was not for him that I wept, but for my own misfortune in being deprived of such a friend.  Crito had got up and gone away even before I did, because he could not restrain his tears.  But Apollodorus, who had been weeping all the time before, then wailed aloud in his grief and made us all break down, except Socrates himself.  But he said, ‘What conduct is this, you strange men!  I sent the women away chiefly for this very reason, that they might not behave in this absurd way; for I have heard that it is best to die in silence.  Keep quiet and be brave.’  Then we were ashamed and controlled our tears.  He walked about and, when he said his legs were heavy, lay down on his back, for such was the advice of the attendant.  The man who had administered the poison laid his hands on him and after a while examined his feet and legs, then pinched his foot hard and asked if he felt it.  He said, ‘No’; then after that, his thighs; and passing upwards in this way he showed us that he was growing cold and rigid.  And again he touched him said that when it reached his heart, he would be gone.  The chill had now reached the region about the groin, and uncovering his face, which had been covered, he said – and these were his last words – ‘Crito, we owe a cock to Aesculapius.  Pay it and do not neglect it.’  ‘That,’ said Crito, ‘shall be done; but see if you have anything else to say.’  To this question he made no reply, but after a little while he moved; the attendant uncovered him; his eyes were fixed.  And Crito when he saw it, closed his mouth and eyes.

“Such was the end, Echecrates, of our friend, who was, we may say, of all those of his time whom we have known, the best and wisest and most righteous man.”

(Ibid, Fowler, pages 393 – 403, 115B-118A)

1.  These last moments of the life of Socrates reveal his concern and care for his friends, students, family, and those who had official roles in the processes and procedures that took place.  At the same time these moments show us a Socrates who is serene in the face of the great transition he is about to undergo.

2.  Crito stands out as the person Socrates relies on for carrying out his instructions and wishes.  Crito and Socrates must have known each other for a very long time and deep trust had developed between them.

3.  “If you take care of yourselves you will serve me and mine and yourselves, whatever you do, even if you make no promises now; but if you neglect yourselves and are not willing to live following step by step, as it were, in the path marked out by our present and past discussions, you will accomplish nothing, no matter how much or how eagerly you promise at present.”

Platonism is a path.  It has steps.  It takes a long time.  It has its foundation in ascetic practices that the dialogue mentions early in the text.  Ascetic practice resembles learning a skill or craft, like learning how to do woodworking, or welding, or baking, or quilting, or mountain climbing, and so forth.  Asceticism is learned one step at a time, the steps are the path to the transcendental.  And asceticism consists of the techniques that give you the strength to walk that path.  Asceticism is like hiking boots, exercises to strengthen your physique for the climb.  This path, and the necessary asceses have been ‘marked out’ by the Sages of Platonism.  Do not neglect the Way.

4.  Socrates scolds Crito for identifying Socrates with the body of Socrates.  Socrates says that such words ‘infect the soul with evil.’  That’s a very strong statement.  But it shows how seriously Socrates was about the great journey beyond death.  To identify a person with their body is to make it more difficult, often much more difficult, for them to enter that journey in a conscious way, and to see it as an opportunity for transcendence.

5.  Socrates bathes before drinking the poison.  Bathing is a type of purification; in some spiritual traditions bathing in nature by standing under a waterfall is taught as a type of purification.  Bathing at this point is Socrates preparing himself, by cleansing his body, for his journey to the next life.

6.  After bathing Socrates speaks to his family; the women and his three sons.  This also is a form of purification, saying a final farewell to his loved ones.

7.  “It was now nearly sunset.”  Sunset is the time when the world enters darkness, when the sun becomes hidden.  The sun is no longer observable and its effects on earth become inaccessible to the senses.  Socrates will soon enter the dusk of his life and like the sun at night, people will no longer be able to see him with their bodily senses. 

8.  “What do you say about pouring a libation to some deity from this cup?  May I, or not?”  “Socrates, said he, “we prepare only as much as we think is enough.”  “I understand,” said Socrates; “but I may and must pray to the gods that my departure hence be a fortunate one; so I offer this prayer, and may it be granted.”

The Focus Philosophical Library throws a slightly different light on what Socrates said:

“What do you say to pouring somebody a libation from this drink?  Is it allowed, or not?”

“Socrates,” he said, “we concoct only so much as we think is the right dose to drink.”

“I understand,” said he, “But I suppose I am allowed to, and indeed should, pray to the gods that my emigration from here to There may turn out to be a fortunate one.  That’s just what I’m praying for – and may it be so!”

The Fowler translation has Socrates say he wants to offer a libation to ‘some deity’, whereas the Focus translation has the libation offered to ‘somebody.’  It is only after the libation has been denied that Socrates resorts to a prayer to the ‘gods’, but not a specific god, and the prayer is of a general kind. 

Offering a libation by pouring out some liquid from a cup, was a very common way of thanking a god or the gods, for some good fortune.  This custom has continued into the 21^st century.  I read a book by Bill Porter, aka Red Pine, titled Finding Them Gone.  Porter has been a translator of Classical Chinese Poetry for decades.  Finding Them Gone is a record of a journey Porter took to China seeking out the burial sites or monuments of various great Chinese poets.  When Porter found a site, he would approach the monument or site and offer a libation to express his gratitude for their poetry.  He would then read his favorite poem that they had written.  It was a very simple, and ancient, way of thanking their spirits.

In a similar way, Socrates wanted to offer a libation of thanks to those who had helped him and/or been a part of his life.  But that simple gesture was not available, so Socrates shifts to a very brief prayer. 

9.  Following Socrates drinking the poison his students break into tears.  This is natural, and some of his students were depicted earlier in the dialogue as succumbing to this kind of emotional display.  Phaedo is honest enough to say that he is weeping “for my own misfortune; for it was not for him that I wept, but for my own misfortune in being deprived of such a friend.” 

Socrates corrects this by saying “. . . it is best to die in silence.  Keep quiet and be brave.”

In the commentary on Phaedo by Damascius it says:  “The Pythagoreans wanted ‘to die in religious silence, . . . ‘  I take ‘religious silence’ to mean contemplative silence, that is to say to enter into the after death realm in a state of contemplation.

(Ibid, Damascius, page 284)

10.  “Crito, we owe a cock to Aesculapius.  Pay it and do not neglect it.”  “That,” said Crito, “shall be done . . . “

These last words of Socrates are kind of a mystery that has given many people, over thousands of years, pause for thought.  There are many different opinions and analyses.  Damascius writes, “Why did Socrates say that he owed Asclepius that sacrifice, and why were those his last words?  If it were due already, a man as careful as he was would not have forgotten it. – The reason is that the soul is in need of the care of the Healing God at the moment that she is set free from all her toil; therefore the Oracle (frg. 131 – translators note) says that souls in their upward flight sing the hymn to Paean.”  Paean is a god of healing for the Olympians.  Paean is, at times, used as an alternative name for Apollo.

(Ibid, Damascius, page 370)

11.  Notice the use of the plural in these last words; Socrates says ‘we’ owe a cock to Asclepius, not “I owe a cock.”  This plural also applies to the next phrase when Socrates says “Pay it . . . “  Socrates is saying “You guys pay it” or “All of you pay it.”  I see this as indicating that these last words were Socrates urging his students to follow the Way to salvation that Socrates had so meticulously taught to them.  Socrates had already made such a statement earlier after Crito asks Socrates what he wants them to do (see above). 

Socrates is saying that all of them are in need of healing and all of them have to pay the price for such healing.  The price a philosopher has to pay is asceticism.  With his last breath he is reminding his students of this reality.  Though Socrates is going to enter the next life realm momentarily, all of them will do so, sooner or later.  As Socrates is disappearing into the beyond he turns and sends them this message.

12.  The rooster, or cock, crows at dawn.  That is when the sun returns, and when the light of the sun reappears.  Socrates is greeting the light from beyond.  Recall how earlier in the dialogue Socrates remarks on how swans sing just before they die and that most people say they sing for sorrow; but Socrates believes that they sing for joy as they approach the transition to a better world. 

13.  It’s helpful, I think, to compare the last words of Socrates to the last words of Plotinus.  Porphyry writes in The Life of Plotinus, “When he was on the point of death . . . he said, ‘Try to bring back the god in us to the divine in the All!’ and, as a snake crept under the bed on which he was lying and disappeared into a hole in the wall, he breathed his last.”

Plotinus had only a single person with him at the time of his death.  Due to a debilitating illness, the school of Plotinus had shut down.  For this reason the settings differ.  But both of them exhibit a concern for those who are with them; be it one person or an extended group.  And both of them speak in their last moments of the possibility that a human life has for attaining the divine.  And in both cases an animal is symbolic of the transition from human life to that eternal life beyond death, beyond becoming and begoning.  In the case of Socrates, it is a cock that is such a symbol.  In the case of Plotinus, it is a snake who ‘disappeared into a hole in the wall’ just as Plotinus was disappearing from this world.

(Porphyry, The Life of Plotinus, translate by A.H. Armstrong, Ennead I, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1966, page 7, ISBN: 9780674994843)

14.  I have enjoyed pulling together these notes and comments on Phaedo over the months I posted them.  ‘Enjoyed’ doesn’t really touch the way this project nourished me.  I hope that some people who read what I’ve posted might benefit from them.  I’ve received emails and in-person comments from a variety of people, and I’m grateful for all of them.

Much more could be said about Phaedo.  My goal was to offer a non-scholarly approach to Phaedo so that other non-scholars might find Phaedo of interest.  I am deeply indebted to scholars, but at times the manner of presentation, such things as scholarly apparatus, for example, can be a considerable barrier for a non-scholar.

During my decades of working at a spiritual bookstore I often had the opportunity to recommend Phaedo to people.  Usually this came up because they were interested in reincarnation; but now and then other issues, such as asceticism and the nature of the spiritual path, would lead to Phaedo.  What this taught me is that there is an audience for Plato’s Dialogues among ordinary people who do not have scholarly credentials.  In a way, this series of notes and comments is a continuation of the kind of interaction I had with many customers at the spiritual bookstore.

Phaedo is an eternal spring of insight, wisdom, and guidance for those on a spiritual path.  Much of what it has to offer only comes to us with repeated readings.  Socrates advises at the end of Phaedo that his students follow the path of philosophy as he had taught it.  One can rely on the teachings of Phaedo for guidance on the long, and often beautiful, journey to the Good, the One, and the Beautiful.

15.  I plan on posting one, or a few, postscripts, but the notes and comments have ended.