Plato: Phaedo · 10 of 44 · tr. Benjamin Jowett
Section 1j
I reckon, said Socrates, that no one who heard me now, not even if he were one of my old enemies, the comic poets, could accuse me of idle talking about matters in which I have no concern.
Let us, then, if you please, proceed with the inquiry.
Whether the souls of men after death are or are not in the world below, is a question which may be argued in this manner: The ancient doctrine of which I have been speaking affirms that they go from this into the other world, and return hither, and are born from the dead.
Now if this be true, and the living come from the dead, then our souls must be in the other world, for if not, how could they be born again?
And this would be conclusive, if there were any real evidence that the living are only born from the dead; but if there is no evidence of this, then other arguments will have to be adduced.
That is very true, replied Cebes.
Then let us consider this question, not in relation to man only, but in relation to animals generally, and to plants, and to everything of which there is generation, and the proof will be easier.
Are not all things which have opposites generated out of their opposites?
I mean such things as good and evil, just and unjust-and there are innumerable other opposites which are generated out of opposites.
And I want to show that this holds universally of all opposites; I mean to say, for example, that anything which becomes greater must become greater after being less.
True.
And that which becomes less must have been once greater and then become less.
Yes.
And the weaker is generated from the stronger, and the swifter from the slower.
Very true.
And the worse is from the better, and the more just is from the more unjust.
Of course.
And is this true of all opposites?
and are we convinced that all of them are generated out of opposites?
Yes.
And in this universal opposition of all things, are there not also two intermediate processes which are ever going on, from one to the other, and back again; where there is a greater and a less there is also an intermediate process of increase and diminution, and that which grows is said to wax, and that which decays to wane?
Yes, he said.
And there are many other processes, such as division and composition, cooling and heating, which equally involve a passage into and out of one another.
And this holds of all opposites, even though not always expressed in words-they are generated out of one another, and there is a passing or process from one to the other of them?
Very true, he replied.
Well, and is there not an opposite of life, as sleep is the opposite of waking?
True, he said.
And what is that?
Death, he answered.
And these, then, are generated, if they are opposites, the one from the other, and have there their two intermediate processes also?
Of course.
Now, said Socrates, I will analyze one of the two pairs of opposites which I have mentioned to you, and also its intermediate processes, and you shall analyze the other to me.
The state of sleep is opposed to the state of waking, and out of sleeping waking is generated, and out of waking, sleeping, and the process of generation is in the one case falling asleep, and in the other waking up.
Are you agreed about that?
Quite agreed.
Then suppose that you analyze life and death to me in the same manner.
Is not death opposed to life?
Yes.
And they are generated one from the other?
Yes.
What is generated from life?
Death.
And what from death?
I can only say in answer-life.
Then the living, whether things or persons, Cebes, are generated from the dead?
Themes
◆Apocatastasiscosmology
The doctrine of the periodic restoration or recurrence of all things to their original state after vast cycles.
The passage argues that souls are born from the dead and return to life, implying a periodic restoration of existence.
All passages →◆Cosmic Dualismtheology
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The text establishes a fundamental opposition between life and death as primary principles generating each other.
All passages →◆Evil As Privationtheology
Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.
The text posits that evil is generated from the better and that opposites are generated out of one another rather than being independent entities.
All passages →◆Funerary Navigationpraxis
Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.
The dialogue explicitly centers on the question of whether souls go to the world below after death, a core concern of funerary texts.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The argument relies on paradoxical reasoning such as 'the worse is from the better' to establish truth.
All passages →◆Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The passage centrally argues that souls return to life after death, reversing the fall into mortality through a cycle of generation and decay.
All passages →◆Soul Migrationcosmology
The transmigration of the soul across lives.
The text explicitly discusses the doctrine that souls go from this world into the other and return hither, implying transmigration.
All passages →Related passages · 7 parallels
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LXXXVI. DEATH (part 1)
“LXXXVI.
TO DEATH.
The FUMIGATION from MANNA.
HEAR me, O Death, whose empire unconfin'd, Extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind.
On thee, the portion of our time depends, Whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.
p.
225 Thy sl…”
Both passages explore the concept of life and death as opposites and the transition between them. Plato discusses the cyclical nature of life and death, while the Orphic Hymn addresses Death as an inevitable and all-destructive force, both touching on the philosophical understanding of the soul's journey.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter II
“After another manner, also, this doubt may be dissolved. For in men, indeed, who are detained in matter, bodies deprived of life produce a certain stain; because that which is not alive inserts a certain defilement in that which is living,…”
Both passages explore the relationship between life and death, and the nature of existence beyond physical forms. Iamblichus discusses the incorporeal nature of daemons and their transcendence of corruption, while Socrates argues for the cyclical nature of life and death through the generation of opposites.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 312
“Section 25 25. Now comes the question, equally calling for an answer, whether those souls that have quitted the places of earth retain memory of their lives- all souls or some, of all things, or of some things, and, again, for ever or merel…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship with memory and existence after death. They discuss the continuity of life and the soul's experiences, though from different philosophical and mystical perspectives.
◆taoism|The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters)|Book 128 (part 7)
“With these views, how should they know wherein death and life are to be found, or what is first and what is last?
They borrow different substances, and pretend that the common form of the body is composed of them 1 .
They dismiss the thou…”
Both passages explore the nature of life and death, and the transformation between the two states. They discuss the cyclical nature of existence and the uncertainty of the afterlife, though from different philosophical and cultural perspectives.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXIII (part 2)
“For some strange reason men do not care to accept this answer; and they desire at all costs to receive an answer in some form that they like, refusing to recognize anything that is different from that form.
They require the solution of the…”
Both passages discuss the transformation and potential of human beings, with Passage A focusing on the differentiation between those capable of growth and those who are not, and Passage B exploring the cyclical nature of life and death, suggesting a process of regeneration and transformation.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|20. The Universal Medicineb
“A philosopher declared that he would discredit universal testimony rather than believe in the resurrection of a dead person, but his utterance was rash, for it was on the faith of universal testimony that he believed in the impossibility of…”
Both passages explore the concept of life and death as interconnected states, with the idea that life arises from death and vice versa. They share a conceptual parallel in discussing the cyclical nature of existence and the possibility of resurrection or rebirth.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|13. Necromancya
“We have declared boldly our opinion, or rather our conviction, as to the possibility of resurrection in certain cases: it remains for us now to complete the revelation of this arcanum and to expose its practice.
Death is a phantom of ignor…”
Both passages explore the concept of life and death as interconnected processes, with the idea that life can emerge from death and vice versa. They share a conceptual parallel in their discussion of the cyclical nature of existence and the possibility of resurrection or rebirth.