ὅπως ἄν, ἔφη, βούλησθε, ἐάνπερ γε λάβητέ με καὶ μὴ ἐκφύγω ὑμᾶς.
γελάσας δὲ ἅμα ἡσυχῇ καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀποβλέψας εἶπεν·
οὐ πείθω, ὦ ἄνδρες, Κρίτωνα, ὡς ἐγώ εἰμι οὗτος Σωκράτης, ὁ νυνὶ διαλεγόμενος καὶ διατάττων ἕκαστον τῶν λεγομένων,
ἀλλ᾽ οἴεταί με ἐκεῖνον εἶναι (115d) ὃν ὄψεται ὀλίγον ὕστερον νεκρόν, καὶ ἐρωτᾷ δὴ πῶς με θάπτῃ.
ὅτι δὲ ἐγὼ πάλαι πολὺν λόγον πεποίημαι, ὡς, ἐπειδὰν πίω τὸ φάρμακον, οὐκέτι ὑμῖν παραμενῶ, ἀλλ᾽ οἰχήσομαι ἀπιὼν εἰς μακάρων δή τινας εὐδαιμονίας,
ταῦτά μοι δοκῶ αὐτῷ ἄλλως λέγειν, παραμυθούμενος ἅμα μὲν ὑμᾶς, ἅμα δ᾽ ἐμαυτόν.
ἐγγυήσασθε οὖν με πρὸς Κρίτωνα, ἔφη, τὴν ἐναντίαν ἐγγύην ἢ ἣν οὗτος πρὸς τοὺς δικαστὰς ἠγγυᾶτο.
οὗτος μὲν γὰρ ἦ μὴν παραμενεῖν·
ὑμεῖς δὲ ἦ μὴν μὴ παραμενεῖν ἐγγυήσασθε ἐπειδὰν ἀποθάνω, ἀλλὰ οἰχήσεσθαι (115e) ἀπιόντα,
ἵνα Κρίτων ῥᾷον φέρῃ, καὶ μὴ ὁρῶν μου τὸ σῶμα ἢ καόμενον ἢ κατορυττόμενον ἀγανακτῇ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ὡς δεινὰ πάσχοντος, μηδὲ λέγῃ ἐν τῇ ταφῇ ὡς ἢ προτίθεται Σωκράτη ἢ ἐκφέρει ἢ κατορύττει.
εὖ γὰρ ἴσθι, ἦ δ᾽ ὅς, ὦ ἄριστε Κρίτων, τὸ μὴ καλῶς λέγειν οὐ μόνον εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο πλημμελές, ἀλλὰ καὶ κακόν τι ἐμποιεῖ ταῖς ψυχαῖς.
ἀλλὰ θαρρεῖν τε χρὴ καὶ φάναι τοὐμὸν σῶμα θάπτειν, καὶ θάπτειν (116a) οὕτως ὅπως ἄν σοι φίλον ᾖ καὶ μάλιστα ἡγῇ νόμιμον εἶναι.
“Proutcumque” dixit “volueritis, si quidem comprehenderitis me et non effugero vos.”
FEDO. Ridensque pariter quiete et ad nos respiciens dixit:
“Haut persuadeo’ inquit, “O viri, Critona quoniam ego sum hic Socrates qui nunc disputo et digero unumquodque eorum que dicta sunt,
atqui suspicatur me aillum esse quem videbitis paulo posterius mortuum, atque percunctatur quonam modo me sepeliat.
Nam et ego pridem plurimum sermonem feci, quoniam, ex quo bibero farmacum, non iam vos prestolabor, verum deportabor migrans in beatorum quasdam felicitates;
ista michi videor ipsi aliter dicere consolatus quidem vos pariterque me ipsum.
Fideiubete igitur me erga Critona” inquit “contraria fideiussione quam qua iste erga iudices fideiubebat.
Hic enim certe permanere,
vos vero certe non permanere fideiubete ut obiero, immo deportari abeuntem,
quatinus Crito facile ferat et ne conspiciens mei corpus seu crematum seu defossum indignetur pro me quasi gravia paciente, neque dicat in sepultura quoniam aut proponitur Socrates vel effertur sive defoditur.
Bene enim nosti” ait ille, “O optime Crito, quod non bene dicitur, non solum in hoc ipsum delictum, immo eciam malum quid infert animabus.
Verum confidereque oportet et dicere meum corpus sepelire, et sepelire sic quomodocumque tibi amicum fuerit et maxime arbitreris legitimum esse.”
“Vtcunque”, inquit, “libet”, si tamen me apprehendetis, ac nisi (53) ego vos effugero.”
Et simul subridens et ad nos conversus,
“non persuadeo”, inquit Critoni, (519, 1) “me esse hunc Socratem qui nunc disputo et singula dicta dispono.
Sed opinatur me illud (2) esse quod paulo post videbit cadaver. Itaque interrogat quemadmodum me sepeliat.
Quod (3) autem iamdiu plurimis verbis contendo, postquam venenum bibero, haud ulterius apud (4) vos me esse futurum, sed ad beatorum profecturum felicitates,
hoc quidem mihi videor (5) frustra Critoni dixisse consolans vos simul atque meipsum.
Fideiubete igitur pro me Cri(6)toni contraria quadam fideiussione quam ipse iudicibus fideiussit.
Ille enim me iudicio (7) sistere,
vos autem me non sistere cum obiero fideiubere, sed abiturum,
ut Crito obitum fa(8)cilius meum ferat, neve meum corpus vel cremari cernens vel sepeliri, me deploret quasi (9) dira patientem. Neque dicat in funere proponi Socratem aut efferri aut sub terram con(10)di.
Certum id habeto, optime Crito, quod maledictum est non solum in hoc ipso delin(11)quere, verumetiam animis nonnihil officere.
At enim considere oportet atque dicere cor(12)pus sepeliri meum atque ita sepeliri ut tibi placebit, maximeque iustum esse censebis.”
In any way that you like; but you must get hold of me, and take care that I do not run away from you.
Then he turned to us, and added with a smile:
--I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same Socrates who have been talking and conducting the argument;
he fancies that I am the other Socrates whom he will soon see, a dead body--and he asks, How shall he bury me?
And though I have spoken many words in the endeavour to show that when I have drunk the poison I shall leave you and go to the joys of the blessed,
--these words of mine, with which I was comforting you and myself,
have had, as I perceive, no effect upon Crito.
And therefore I want you to be surety for me to him now, as at the trial he was surety to the judges for me:
but let the promise be of another sort;
for he was surety for me to the judges that I would remain, and you must be my surety to him that I shall not remain, but go away and depart;
and then he will suffer less at my death, and not be grieved when he sees my body being burned or buried. I would not have him sorrow at my hard lot, or say at the burial, Thus we lay out Socrates, or, Thus we follow him to the grave or bury him; for false words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.
Be of good cheer, then, my dear Crito, and say that you are burying my body only, and do with that whatever is usual, and what you think best.