λωτα ὀφλήσειν παρ ̓ ἐμαυτῷ, γλιχόμενος τοῦ ζῆν καὶ φειδόμενος οὐδενὸς ἔτι ἐνόντος. ἀλλ ̓ ἴθι, ἔφη, πιθοῦ καὶ μὴ ἄλλως ποίει. §. 66. Καὶ ὁ Κρίτων ἀκούσας ἔνευσε τῷ παιδὶ πλησίον ἑστῶτι. καὶ ὁ παῖς ἐξελθὼν καὶ συχνὸν χρόνον διατρίψας ἧκεν ἄγων τὸν μέλλοντα δώσειν τὸ φάρμακον, ἐν κύλικι φέροντα τετριμμένον· ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Σωκράτης τὸν ἄνθρωπον, Εἶεν, ἔφη, ὦ βελτιστε, σὺ γὰρ τούτων ἐπιστήμων, τί χρὴ ποιεῖν ; Οὐδὲν ἄλλο, ἔφη, ἢ πιόντα περιιέναι, ἕως ἄν σου βάρος ἐν τοῖς σκέλεσι γένηται, ἔπειτα κατακεῖσθαι καὶ οὕτως αὐτὸ ποιήσει. Καὶ ἅμα ὤρεξε τὴν κύλικα τῷ Σωκράτει. καὶ ὃς λαβὼν καὶ μάλα ἵλεως, ὦ Ἐχέκρατες, οὐδὲν τρέσας οὐδὲ διαφθείρας οὔτε τοῦ χρώματος οὔτε τοῦ προσώπου, ἀλλ ̓ ὥς περ εἰώθει ταυρηδὸν ὑποβλέψας πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, Τί λέγεις, ἔφη, περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ πόματος πρὸς τὸ ἀποσπεῖσαί τινι; ἔξεστιν ἢ οὔ ; Τοσοῦτον, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες, τρίβομεν, ὅσον οἰόμεθα μέτριον εἶναι πιεῖν. Μανθάνω, ἦ δ ̓ ὅς· ἀλλ ̓ εὔχεσθαί γέ που τοῖς θεοῖς ἐξεστί τε καὶ χρὴ, τὴν μετοίκησιν τὴν ἐνθένδε ἐκεῖσε εὐτυχῆ γενέσθαι· ἃ δὴ καὶ ἐγὼ εὔχομαί τε καὶ γένοιτο ταύτῃ. Καὶ ἅμα εἰπὼν ταῦ 3 0 Φειδόμενος οὐδενὸς ἔτι ὄντος.] Socrates alludes here, probably, to a distich of Hesiod, ̓́Εργ. κ. Ημ. 365. ̓Αρχομένου δὲ πίθου καὶ λήγοντος, κορέσασθαι· Μεσσόθι φείδεσθαι· δεινὴ δ ἐνὶ πυθμένι φειδώ. §. 66. Εως ἄν σου βάρος ἐν τοῖς σκ. γεν.] Senec. de Provid. c. iii. p. 195. “ Male tractatum Socratem judicas, quod illam potionem publice mixtam, non aliter quam medicamentum immortalitates obduxit, et de morte disputavit usque ad ipsam mortem: male cum illo actum est, quod gelatus est sanguis, et paulatim frigore inducto venarum vigor constitit.” Plin. Hist. Nat. xxv. 25. “ Cicuta quoque venenum est, publica Atheniensium pana invisa. Schol. in Aristoph. Ran. 125. ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν γὰρ οὗτος ὁ θάνατος ἄρχεται, πρώτους αὐτοὺς ἀποψύχων ὡς τοῦ ζωτικοῦ αἵματος περὶ τὴν καρδίαν συστελλομένου. Οὕτως αὐτὸ ποιήσει.] And so (while walking up and down,) the poison will work or be effectual of itself; i. e. will require nothing more. V. Cousin; le poison agira de lui méme. The Latins use facere in a similar sense. Ficinus appears to have read ποιήσεις ; so Steph. and Bas. 2. Καὶ μάλα ἵλεως.] With the utmost cheerfulness; καὶ μάλα is often so used, with an intensive or augmentative power in καὶ : so infr. καὶ μάλα εὐχερῶς, κ. τ. λ. Ταυρηδὸν ὑποβλέψας.] Looking stedfastly, or intently. "Εξεστί τε καὶ χρή.] It is both lawful and expedient. τα ἐπισχόμενος καὶ μάλα εὐχερῶς καὶ εὐκόλως ἐξέπιε. καὶ ἡμῶν οἱ πολλοὶ τέως μὲν ἐπιεικῶς οἷοί τε ἦσαν κατέχειν τὸ μὴ δακρύειν, ὡς δὲ εἴδομεν πίνοντά τε καὶ πεπωκότα, οὐκέτι, ἀλλ ̓ ἐμοῦ γε βίᾳ καὶ αὐτοῦ ἀστακτὶ ἐχώρει τὰ δάκρυα, ὥστε ἐγκαλυψάμενος ἀπεκλαον ἐμαυτόν· οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἐκεῖνόν γε, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ τύχην, οἵου ἀνδρὸς ἑταίρου ἐστερημένος εἴην. ὁ δὲ Κρίτων ἔτι πρότερος ἐμοῦ, ἐπειδὴ οὐχ οἷός τ ̓ ἦν κατέχειν τὰ δάκρυα, ἐξανέστη. ̓Απολλόδωρος δὲ καὶ ' ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνῳ οὐδὲν ἐπαύετο δακρύων, καὶ δὴ καὶ τότε ἀναβρυχησάμενος, κλάων καὶ ἀγανακτῶν, οὐδένα ὅν τινα οὐ κατέκλασε τῶν παρόντων, πλήν γε αὐτοῦ Σωκράτους. ἐκεῖνος δέ, Οἷα, ἔφη, ποιεῖτε, ὦ θαυμάσιοι. ἐγὼ μέντοι οὐχ ἥκιστα τούτου ἕνεκα τὰς γυναῖκας ἀπέπεμψα, ἵνα μὴ τοιαῦτα πλημμελοῖεν· καὶ γὰρ ἀκήκοα ὅτι ἐν εὐφημίᾳ χρὴ τελευτᾷν. ἀλλ ̓ ἡσυ ̓Επισχόμενος.] i. e. Putting the cup to his lips: CORNAR., correctly, according to the sense of the middle voice: ἐπέχειν τινὶ πιεῖν, act. signifying to give a drink to any one, as in Aristoph. Nub. 1385. εἰ μέν γε βρῶν εἴποις, ἐγὼ γνοὺς ἂν πιεῖν ἐπέσχον. Κατέχειν τὸ μὴ δακρύειν.] i. e. Τὰ δάκρυα. Matthiæ Gr. s. 543. Obs. 2. ̓Αλλ ̓ ἐμοῦ γε βίᾳ καὶ αὐτοῦ] But in spite of myself the tears flowed copiously, &c.: ἀστακτὶ, non stillatim, fuse. HEIND. Valcken. ad Τheocr. Adon. p. 228.—Εγκαλυψάμενος, having covered my face with my garment. Dorvill. ad Charit., p. 274. Απέκλαον ἐμαυτὸν, Cf. Cic. Lael. 3. "Moveor enim tali amico orbatus, qualis, ut arbitror, nemo unquam erit-nihil enim mali accidisse Scipioni puto : mihi accidit, si quid accidit . then indeed bursting out into lamentation, bewailing and complaining, he pierced the heart of every one present except Socrates himself.—Οὐδένα όντινα,-upon this construction, see Matthiæ Gr. s. 306.-Κατέκλασε, Steph. conj. for kaτέκλαυσε. Τhes. Gr. Ling. voc. κάπ τακλαίω. Ola.] In what manner! how! Cf. Hom. Odyss. B'. 239. Aristoph. Pac. 33.--Οὐχ ἥχιστα,—the superlative of negative adjectives or adverbs is often put with οὐ for the positive without ού, especially οὐχ ἥκιστα for μάλιστα.Matthiæ Gr. 5. 463. Ὅτι ἐν εὐφημίᾳ χρὴ τελευτᾷν.] Correctly rendered by Ficinus, cum faustis acclamationibus : so Cornar., cum laudatione et bonorum verborum pronunciatione. See Robinson's Grec. Antiq. pp. 162. 202. 214. 268. Οlympiod. Cod. i. p. 168. 261. Οτι ἐν εὐφημίᾳ τελευτᾷν ἠξίουν οἱ Πυθαγόρειοι, ὡς ἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἱερου τοῦ πράγματος ὄντος· καὶ ὅτι ἐνίοτε περισπᾷ τὰ τοιαῦτα τὴν ἀνάγωγον ὁρμήν. The precept of Pythagoras generally, as regarding this εὐφημία, is mentioned by Jamblichus, Vit. Pythag. c. 149. and its especial importance at the time of χίαν τε ἄγετε καὶ καρτερεῖτε. Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀκούσαντες ᾐσχύνθημέν τε καὶ ἐπέσχομεν τοῦ δακρυειν. ὁ δὲ περιελθών, ἐπειδή οἱ βαρύνεσθαι ἔφη τὰ σκέλη, κατεκλίθη ὕπτιος· οὕτω γὰρ ἐκέλευεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος. καὶ ἅμα ἐφαπτόμενος αὐτοῦ οὗτος ὁ δοὺς τὸ φάρμακον, διαλιπὼν χρόνον ἐπεσκοπει τοὺς πόδας καὶ τὰ σκέλη, κἄπειτα σφόδρα πιέσας αὐτου τὸν πόδα ἤρετο εἰ αἰσθάνοιτο· ὁ δ ̓ οὐκ ἔφη. καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο αὖθις τὰς κνήμας· καὶ ἐπανιὼν οὕτως ἡμῖν ἐπεδείκνυτο ὅτι ψύ χοιτό τε καὶ πήγνυτο. καὶ αὐτὸς ἥπτετο, καὶ εἶπεν ὅτι ἐπειδὰν πρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ γένηται αὐτῷ, τότε οἰχήσεται. Ἤδη οὖν Ἤδη οὖν σχεδόν τι αὐτοῦ ἦν τὰ περὶ τὸ ἦτρον ψυχόμενα, καὶ ἐκκαλυψάμενος, ἐνεκεκάλυπτο γάρ, εἶπεν, ὃ δὴ τελευταῖον ἐφθέγξατο, Ω Κρίτων, ἔφη, τῷ ̓Ασκληπιῷ ὀφείλομεν ἀλεκτρυόνα. ἀλλ ̓ Διαλιπὼν χρόνον.] After some time. Matthiæ Gr. s. 557. p. 969. ̓Επανιὼν.] Going higher up, sc. with his hand.—Ψύχοιτο· Elian. H. A. iv. 23. κωνείου δ ̓ ἄνθρωπος πιὼν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ αἵματος πῆξιν καὶ ψύξιν ἀποθνήσκει.---Πήγνυτο: Plin. H. Ν. xxv 13. in cicut. "Semini et foliis refrigeratoria vis: quæ si enecat, incipiunt algere ab extremitatibus corporis. Semine trito expressus (succus) et sole densatus in pastillos, necat sanguine spissando. Hæc altera vis. Et ideo sic necatorum maculæ in corporibus apparent." Upon the opt. πήγνυτο, see Buttmann Gram. Ampl. t. i. p. 539. Cf. supr. c. 23. διασκεδάννυται. Hom. Iliad. ώ. 665. Τῷ δεκατῷ δέ κε θάπτοιμεν, δαινῦτό τε λαός. Odyss. σ ́. 237. λελῦτο. Καὶ αὐτὸς ἥπτετο.] And he himself touched him; sc. after he had made those who were standing by touch him, to show how far the poison had already operated in removing all sensation. Περὶ τὸ ἦτρον.] The lower belly; from the navel downwards. Timæus, Plat. Lex., explains ήτρον from Hom. Iliad. ν ́. 568. ὁ μεταξὺ ὀμφαλοῦ τε καὶ αἰδοίου τόπος,—“ ἔνθα μάλιστα Γίνετ ̓ ̔́Αρης ἀλεγεινὸς ὀϊζυροῖσι βροτοῖσιν.” Lex Rhetor. MS. ̓͂Ητρον· τὸ ὑπογάστριον οὕτως καλεῖται. Ενεκεκάλυπτο γάρ.] According to the usual custom on such occasions. Cf. Eurip. Hyppol. 1458. Κρύψον δέ μου πρόσωπον ὡς τάχος πέπλοις. Xenoph. Cyrop. viii. 7. 28. Ταῦτ ̓ εἰπὼν (ὁ Κῦρος) καὶ πάντας δεξιωσάμενος συνεκαλύψατο καὶ οὕτως ἐτελεύτησεν. Liv. iv. 12. viii. 9. Sueton. Cæsar. c. 82. Robinson, Grec. Antiq. B. v. c. 3. Τῷ ̓Ασκληπιῷἀλεκτρυόνα.] Those who during sickness had been in danger of death, used to sacrifice a cock to Æs, culapius, in fulfilment of a vow to that effect, when the deity appeared, by their recovery, to have attended to their prayers. So Socrates would have it understood by this injunction to Crito, that he now felt himself on the eve of liberation from the many pains and perils of his mortal career, and of being restored to the enduring and unmixed ἀπόδοτε καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσητε. ̓Αλλὰ ταῦτα, ἔφη, ἔσται, ὁ Κρίτων· ἀλλ ̓ ὅρα εἴ τι ἄλλο λέγεις. Ταῦτα ἐρομένου αὐτοῦ οὐδὲν ἔτι ἀπεκρίνατο, ἀλλ ̓ ὀλίγον χρόνον διαλιπὼν ἐκινήθη τε καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐξεκάλυψεν αὐτόν, καὶ ὃς τὰ ὄμματα ἔστησεν· ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Κρίτων ξυνέλαβε τὸ στόμα τε καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. §. 67. Ἥδε ἡ τελευτή, ὦ Ἐχέκρατες, τοῦ ἑταίρου ἡμῖν ἐγένετο, ἀνδρός, ὡς ἡμεῖς φαῖμεν ἄν, τῶν τότε enjoyment of another and a better life. Many different opinions have been given on this subject as to the actual intention of Socrates: Lactant, iii. 20. Tertullian. Apolog. 46. and Havercamp. in loc. Luperc. Beryt. Gram. περὶ τοῦ παρὰ Πλάτωνι ἀλεκτρυόνος. Eudoc. Ion. p. 282. Suid. v. Λούπερκος: to all of which the answer of Fischer is at once the most feasible and satisfactory-" Ego vero assentior iis qui putant, id a Socrate propterea factum esse, quod sperasset, animum suum, ubi vinculis corporis solutus esset, servatum iri et salutem esse consecuturum.-Nam ægroti saluti restituti, Asculapio gallum immolarunt.” So V. Cousin understands the intended sacrifice to be" en reconnaisance de sa guérison de la maladie de la vie actuelle." That Socrates should just at this moment have recollected, as some say, a vow which he had made in consequence of his recovering from an illness after the battle of Delium; or that he wished to show by this that he did not disown, as he had been accused, the gods of his country; that he was afraid of being charged before Rhadamanthus by Esculapius for a forgotten vow ; or desired of Crito to make such an offering on his behalf, because Apollo had pronounced him the wisest of men :-all these, and similar explanations of the subject, are so far out of keeping with the whole tenor of the dialogue, and this portion of it especially, that it is enough to mention them to prove that they are inappropriate and misplaced ; whereas the interpretation which has been preferred as supr. has been not only authorized by the best commentators, but is evidently in complete accordance with the speaker and the scene. Εἴ τι ἄλλο λέγεις.] i. e. But observe, if you have any other charge to give. Ὃς τὰ ὄμματα ἔστησεν.] i. e. Ὃς, sc. ὁ Σωκράτης, κατὰ τὰ ὄμματα ἔστησεν, his eyes were fired : atque illius oculi diriguere. HEIND. Cf. Chariton. iii. 9. ἐμμανὴς γενομένη στήσασα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀνέκραγη. Dorvill. in loc. Ξυνέλαβε τὸ στόμα τε—] Closed his mouth and eyes. Kirchrnan. de. Funerib. i. 6. Potter, Archæol. B. iv. c. 3. §. 67. "Ηδε ἡ τελευτή.] Αristippus, on being asked how Socrates had died, answered; ὡς ἂν ἐγὼ εὐξαίμην. Diog. L. in Vit. Arist. ii. δ. Τῶν τότε ὧν ἐπειράθημεν.] i. e. The very best of those of whom we had experience then, and moreover the most sensible and just. So the passage must be rendered according to the reading as supr., which is sanctioned by all the copies; but Wyttenbach objects to τότε, as conveying but a limited share of praise, and unsuited to the recency of the event, whence he proposes τῶν πώποτε, eorum qui unquam fuerunt. Heindorf would read the passage ; ἀνδρὸς, ὡς ἡμεῖς φαῖμεν ἂν, πάντων, τότε (i. e. extremo vita Socratis die,) ὡς ἐπειράθημεν, ἀριστου, καὶ, ἄλλως (per totam ejus vitam) φρονιμωτάτου καὶ δικαιοτάτου. V. Cousin prefers the emendation of Buttmann and Schleirmacher, ἐκ τῶν τότε ὧν ἐπειράθημεν, &c., which however Plato is more likely to have written so; ἐξ ὧν τότε ἐπειρ. Stallbaum conj.: ἀνδρός, ὡς φαῖμεν ἄν, τότε θ ̓, ὡς ἐπειράθημεν, ἀριστου, καὶ ἄλλως φρ. viri et tum, quum moreretur, optimi, id quod in eo experti sumus, et per totam vitam prudentissimi atque JUSTIS ὧν ἐπειράθημεν ἀρίστου καὶ ἄλλως φρονιμωτάτου καὶ δικαιοτάτου. SIMI. Cf. Xenoph. Anabas. i. 9. 1. Kuρος μὲν οὕτως ἐτελεύτησεν, ἀνὴρ ὢν Περσῶν τῶν μετὰ Κῦρον τὸν ἀρχαῖον γενομένων βασιλικώτατος τε καὶ ἄρχειν ἀξιώτατος, ὡς παρὰ πάντων ὁμολογεῖται τῶν Κύρου δοκούντων ἐν πείρᾳ γενέσθαι, Upon closing the Phædo, it may probably be asserted with safety, that one only, and that a deeply serious impression, will remain upon the minds of those who have attentively considered the grandeur and importance of its subject,- -one not the less interesting because it fully proves how far unaided reason can advance alone, and at what point it fails without the support and guidance of revelation, by which it is finally enabled to arrive at the eminence, from whence, with a vision unimpaired and unobscured, it surveys and comprehends the otherwise inscrutable control of the Supreme "in the heavens above and in the earth beneath." Again, to turn from the subject to the philosopher himself, what noble or generous emotion of the heart can fail to be awakened in the contemplation of his character, as pourtrayed by the masterhand of his devoted and admiring disciple? With the same calmness, selfpossession, and gentle affability which had adorned his life; with the same firmness of soul, integrity of purpose, and singleness of heart which had dignified his pursuits, and with the same zeal which had ever signalized his investigation of unclouded truth, Socrates, on the last day of his earthly existence, appears in the successful support of the soul's immortality, and the uncompromising advocacy of that virtue and purity which alone can render that immortality blessed. The prison, the poison, and the monstrous injustice of the sentence which ordained them, form no theme of complaint with the truly martyr-philosopher; if adverted to at all, it is in language best calculated to deprive death of its worst concomitant, despair, and to console the grief in which he could not participate, by imparting to his mourning friends a share of his own cheering conviction, that to die was really but to begin to live. The circumstances attending the last moments of Socrates are detailed with the most affecting simplicity, and a fidelity undeviatingly true to the principal and subordinate characters in this unrivalled scene. There no unnatural straining after false effect; no inappropriate overlay of highly-wrought poetical embellishment. The death of such a man is drawn from the model of his life; unostentatious, meek, and resigned throughout; it may be presumed that there are but few can quit this record of his great yet unobtrusive virtues, and not exclaim with Cotta—“ Quid dicam de Socrate? Cujus morti illacrymari soleo, Platonem legens." Socrates was born at Alopece, a village near Athens, in April or May, B. C. 468, in the eleventh month of the Archon Apsephion; or, according to others, in April or May, B. c. 469, in the fifth month of Apsephion, and died E. c. 400, in the first year of the 95th Olympiad, in the month Thargelion, during which the annual offering was sent to Delos.Clint. Fast. Hellen. introd. p. xix. He was the son of Sophroniscus, a poor sculptor, and Phænareta, a midwife, and was trained to his father's art, which he appears to have studied not without success, having executed a group of the habited graces, which, it is said, were allowed admission into the Acropolis. At his father's death he was left but a small inheritance, which he lost by the dishonesty of a relative, and still continued to support himself by the exercise of his art, devoting all his leisure moments to the study of his more favorite pursuit, philosophy. His disposition, abilities, and strong propensity towards learning, recommended him to the notice of Crito, a wealthy Athenian, who took him under |