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?
§ Ask Guru about this passage →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 →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. [quarantine-w3: soul_migration x platonism — see rellm data/quarantine/dossiers.jsonl]
All passages →Related passages · 13 parallels
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Shared concept: Return To Source — The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination. (derived)
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Shared concept: Cosmic Dualism — Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality. (derived)
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Shared concept: Cosmic Dualism — Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality. (derived)
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Shared concept: Apocatastasis — The doctrine of the periodic restoration or recurrence of all things to their original state after vast cycles. (derived)
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Shared concept: Soul Migration — The transmigration of the soul across lives. (derived)
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Shared concept: Soul Migration — The transmigration of the soul across lives. (derived)
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Shared concept: Apocatastasis — The doctrine of the periodic restoration or recurrence of all things to their original state after vast cycles. (derived)
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Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)