Plato: Phaedo · 44 of 44 · tr. Benjamin Jowett

Section 1

He was beginning to grow cold about the groin, when he uncovered his face, for he had covered himself up, and said (they were his last words)-he said: Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt?

The debt shall be paid, said Crito; is there anything else?

There was no answer to this question; but in a minute or two a movement was heard, and the attendants uncovered him; his eyes were set, and Crito closed his eyes and mouth.

Such was the end, Echecrates, of our friend, whom I may truly call the wisest, and justest, and best of all the men whom I have ever known.

Themes

◆Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

The passage details the specific ritual actions surrounding death, including uncovering the body and paying a debt to Asclepius.

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◆Good Thought Word Deedethics

The Zoroastrian triad of right thought, right speech, and right action as the foundation of ethical life; truth-in-living.

Socrates' final words reflect the Zoroastrian triad of right thought (remembrance) and right action (payment).

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

Asclepius is invoked as a personal deity to whom a debt must be paid.

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◆Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The text presents Socrates' final words as a paradoxical instruction on the nature of wisdom and justice.

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